Worth It
by Parker19
Summary: The formidable Olivia Pope finds herself vulnerable after a tragedy. Only Fitz isn't the married President- He's her doctor. Rated M for language and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

**Yoyoyoyoyoyo I'm back. To be honest, I don't know** _ **why**_ **because I have so much shit going on haha. This is a story I've been working on for a while, and am just now getting around to posting. Enjoy and thank you.**

 ***It also revolves around the maternity and medical world which I admittedly know nothing about. I tried to google my way through this story, so try not to roll your eyes too much, haha.**

* * *

Dr. Fitzgerald Grant was finally off of work. His twelve hour shift was weighing on him as he walked down the hallway of the maternity ward. He waved goodbye to a couple of his colleagues who had the night shift.

" _Where is my husband_." He stopped at the sound of a woman's strained voice in panic. His instincts guided him as he turned the other corner to see a woman being restrained on a stretcher. She had a gash on her forehead with blood dripping down her face. She was pregnant—somewhere in her eighth month—but it was hard for him to tell because of her size. She was fighting the multiple doctors and nurses restraining her to the stretcher.

"Ma'am, ma'am, for the safety of your child, we are going to have to ask you to calm down."

"Where is he? Is he dead? I need to see him." She kicked, wailing in pain. Fitz winced at the sound coming from her small frame. Her eyes locked with his as she let a bloody scream out of her core. He couldn't stop himself from running over to a nurse who was a part of the team pushing the stretcher down the hall.

"What is going on? How can I help?"

"Car crash, she's eight and half months, she has a broken foot and internal bleeding. The baby needs to come out now, and we need to see if there is any surgery to be done."

"Her husband?"

"ER. He was in the crash too."

Fitz nodded, jogging over to the stretcher. He took the woman's hand who was clenched in a fist at her side. If her eyes had hands they would have been the sharpest knives.

"Hello, what is your name?"

"Olivia." She said through gritted teeth.

"Hi, Olivia. My name is Dr. Grant. Your husband is being cared for by some of the best doctors in the country. You don't need to worry about him right now. Right now, I'm going to make sure that you are healthy and that your baby is safe. Okay? Do you think you can calm down for me?"

Her hand was squeezing his so hard that he thought it might bruise. She just nodded, tears streaming down her face. He saw panic set in.

"Great, everything is going to be okay." They wheeled her into an operating room. Dr. Cyrus Beene, who worked alongside Fitz walked in and took over the case. He gained her information from a nurse and began examining the situation.

"My good friend Dr. Beene is going to be your doctor. He is the best at his job."

"Fitz, what are you doing here?"

"I saw she needed help, so…"

"Nevermind." Cyrus was in high alert mode. He had to save not only the life of the woman, but also her baby.

"Mrs. Pope, you are going to have your baby right now. We are going to perform a cesarean section on you. The baby's heart rate is normal, and we have no indication of any threatening harm done. However, we need to remove the baby to make sure you are healthy."

"I want my husband here."

"I'm sorry but your husband can't be here right now. They are operating on him downstairs."

"Operating?" Her eyes widened and her grip on Fitz's hand strengthened. "Why are they operating on him, what is wrong?" She swatted a nurse who was trying to clean up the gash on her forehead.

"Everything is going to be fine. Please, do you trust me?"

She looked at him with wide eyes. Her bottom lip was trembling and he could tell that shock was setting in. She nodded the slightest bit of affirmation.

"Here." He took the bandage from the nurse. "Can I clean your face?"

She nodded again, and he carefully wiped her face and applied the bandage. He talked to her in low, calm tone about what they were going to do in the operation. He told her of the risks and percentages until her face was clean and bandaged.

"Okay, Olivia, we are now going to put you under some heavy anesthesia. You are going to feel groggy, and I don't want you to fight it."

"Now? You are… Right now? I want Jake—I… I want him to be with me. We have to wait?"

"I'm sorry, but every second we wait, the risks increase, Olivia—"

" _No_." Olivia pushed away and tried to fight him. The pain in her foot caused her to wince in pain. "I'm going to wait."

"Everything will be okay. You said you trusted me, remember?"

A nurse secured her wrists in restraints and they inserted the IV. The needle piercing her skin didn't even faze her compared to the rest of the pain she was feeling.

"You can leave. We have it covered." Cyrus motioned for Fitz to get out of the way, but Fitz didn't move. Olivia's hand was still gripping his with surprising strength.

Cyrus's voice snapped. " _Dr. Grant._ "

"Sorry," Fitz physically unclenched her hand and backed away with his hands up in surrender. The woman's eyes connected with his in a panic as the anesthesia took over. He watched her eyelids droop and finally shut. Cyrus gave him a deadly look, so he knew he had to leave the room. He walked to his car parked in the parking garage.

He was tired and his fourteen hour shift was weighing on him as he struggled to stay awake on his drive home. Yet, the woman named Olivia stayed on his mind. He had to be back at the hospital at eight the next day, giving him four hours of sleep, so he tried to push all thoughts from his head and focus on getting some sleep.

/

"Good morning, Dr. Grant." Amanda, a doctor finishing her residency and assigned to follow Fitz around greeted him cheerfully.

"Woah, there. It's too early for that." He smiled kindly. Amanda ran through his schedule for the day and the latest developments over the night that he missed. "Hey, Dr. Beene received a patient last night. She was in a bad car crash. African American woman about eight months pregnant. Could you find out what room she is in?"

"Sure."

"Thanks. I believe her name is Olivia."

"I'll get right on it."

"Thanks, Amanda." Fitz knew that Dr. Amanda Tanner had a crush on him, and sometimes he used that to his advantage. He was a tall, handsome, divorced man and she was pleasantly attractive as well. He just had no interest in dating any of his co-workers. She came back within minutes.

"She's in room 841. Olivia Ballard."

"How'd she look?"

"She wasn't awake. Head bandaged, foot in a cast. Looked like a pretty bad crash."

"Her baby?"

"If you want, I can get her file…"

"No, that's not necessary. Thanks for looking into it for me."

"Anytime."

"Excuse me, I'm going to make my rounds." Fitz checked up on the patients he left the night before. As he finished checking up on everyone, he walked on to room 841. She was asleep, with the trauma from the previous night absent from her face. Out of habit, he went over to check her IV and EKG. He turned to her when he heard some rustling. Her wrists were still restrained, but she protested against them. Eventually her eyes fluttered open. She was fighting the wear off of the drugs.

"Good morning, Mrs. Ballard. How do you feel?"

"Water." She croaked, and he poured her a glass. He realized her wrists were restrained so he helped her drink it. As she soother her burning throat, panic set across her face. She looked down at her stomach and her foot and tried to move her restrained hands. "Where is… Jake, my baby… How did…"

"If I untie you, will you try to punch me like last night?"

"No."

Fitz unbuckled her wrists and she reached to feel her stomach.

"Ow, fuck." She mumbled as she felt where the surgery was done.

"I don't know the condition of your husband or child. I'm sorry, but I just walked in to check on you. Give me a minute, and I'll be right back." He patted her hand and left the room. Dr. Beene was walking down the hallway, towards her room.

"Grant. What were you doing in there?"

"I was just checking up on her."

"She is not your patient."

"I know that…" He had a respectable relationship with Dr. Beene, but the esteemed doctor was a stickler for rules and had little compassion or room for error for his co-workers. "Can I take her off of your hands?"

"Why?"

"You saw how panicked she was last night. I think she needs someone she feels like she can trust."

Dr. Beene looked at him long and hard, trying to figure out why he would be so insistent on a random patient. "Sure."

"Do you have her file? What do I need to know?"

"She was in a three car accident last night. According to the police report, the driver of the car ran a red light. A semi-truck hit the driver's side, and a sedan hit the front tire of the car on the passenger side. The driver of the car was Jake Ballard. He died early this morning, the doctors couldn't save him. Olivia suffered two fractures in her navicular and ankle. She also had a bad gash on her forehead form the windshield glass and a minor concussion. She also suffered some intense bruising along her chest from the seatbelt."

"The baby?"

"Two weeks early, but healthy. 5.7 pounds. We are pumping her with nutrients and running tests."

"It's a girl?"

"Here are the files. The front desk will have everything else." Cyrus went on to his next patient. Fitz skimmed the files before returning to Olivia. She was sitting up, watching the door intently.

"What room is my husband in?"

Fitz pulled up a chair next to her bed. "I'm sorry, but he did not survive the accident. He passed at 3:00 this morning."

Olivia let out a choked sob as the air was sucked out of her lungs. "Jake—"

"I'm sorry." He took her hand in his, even though it was crossing some kind of line in the doctor patient dynamic. "You have a beautiful, healthy baby girl."

She stared down at her lap like she didn't hear him. Her face went blank and she went silent.

"Mrs. Ballard." He gently squeezed her hand. "Would you like to see your baby?"

She didn't respond. She was zoned out, with her brow crinkled. She removed her hand from his and clasped hers together in her lap. He patted her shoulder and went to the corded phone by the door.

"Are you done testing Olivia Ballard's baby? Can I have a nurse bring her to room 841? Thank you."

Moments later, a nurse appeared with a baby swaddled in a pink blanket. Fitz thanked her and took the baby.

"Someone wants to meet you." Fitz smiled warmly as he placed the baby in her arms. "Here, hold her up like this." He positioned her arms to support the baby.

Olivia looked down at her baby, but made no comforting show towards the sleeping baby. She just looked at her with the same blank, dead eyes. Fitz frowned at her with the baby. She was still in shock from the news of her husband's death.

"I'll go give her back to a nurse." He took the baby back. "If you want to see her, just press that button by your bed for a nurse. Your husband was your only emergency contact. Do you have any family in town?"

"No." She whispered.

"Any friends? Anybody we can contact?"

"Harrison Wright, my co-worker."

"Write down his number and I'll have a nurse put a call through to him."

She wrote his number down and he left her to herself.

/

Olivia knew her team would be there in ten minutes tops. They were no doubt looking for her. She had so many things change in the last twenty four hours, and they were the one constant. Soon, Abbey Whelan, Quinn Perkins, and Harrison Wright were walking through the door.

"Liv, what happened? Where is Jake?" Abbey was immediately at her side. "Where is your baby? Where is Jake?"

"Jake is dead." She said with a flat tone.

Everyone fell silent. Abbey put a hand on her shoulder.

"Liv…"

"The baby is okay. It's a girl." She looked at them. "Where is Huck?"

"He's still working on the senator's security system."

"Good. Quinn, go back to the office and get make a list of everybody who could benefit from the weapons contract in his committee. Foreign governments, special interest groups, private individuals, anyone. Abbey, I need you to find out where Jake's body is. I'm going to have to stay here for a couple of days. Handle funeral preparations. I also need a copy of the police report. Also, run by my apartment and grab the overnight bag from the back of my closet."

"Of course." Abbey hesitated. "Liv…"

"Go."

"Okay." Abbey and Quinn left.

"Liv." Harrison walked over to stand by her bed. He took her hand in his. "What can I do?"

Olivia sighed sinking back into her bed. She looked up at the ceiling in silence.

"Do you want me to get your baby? Can I meet her?"

Olivia didn't respond. She heard Harrison leave the room and return a couple of moments later with a nurse and the baby.

"Olivia, the nurse said we could have the baby stay in here now. All of her tests are good. She was a tiny little sucker, but they are working on getting her weight up." The nurse set up the baby's bed next to her, and Harrison pulled up a chair. "Do you want to hold her?"

"No, I'm tired." Olivia whispered. She wasn't herself. Harrison could see that she was a shell at the moment. It was like he was looking at a ghost.

"Do you mind if I hold her?" He tried to keep his tone optimistic. "I want to introduce myself to our newest gladiator." She nodded slightly. "Then you just go to sleep and get some rest. I'll take care of her."

Harrison pulled the little girl into his arms. "Hey, you. Your mommy hasn't given you a name yet, so I'm going to call you little gladiator. Because that is what you are. A gladiator. Except they don't make suits in your size, so I guess that you are a gladiator in a diaper. Don't worry. You'll grow out of it." He continued in his baby voice. "My name is Harrison. That is a lot of syllables, but you are smart like your momma, so you'll get it. I don't know how to gladiate a diaper change, but I'll get it eventually too. I'm actually glad that you are here. Everyone in this town is a bloody Redskins fan. I know, it is tragic. But don't worry. Uncle Harrison is going to raise you right. There is nothing more American than the red white and blue New York Giants…"

Olivia drifted off to sleep with Harrison rocking the baby in the corner of the room and talking nonsense to her.

/

"How is she?" Abbey said a little too loudly.

"Shhh." Harrison pointed to the baby in his lap. He put her in her the crib next to Olivia's bed, and they walked out of the room. "This is scary."

"What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know. She hasn't said more than five words after you guys left. She is withdrawing. I've never seen her like this… She won't even name the baby."

"Why not?"

"I don't know! She won't tell me."

"How much longer does she have to stay here?"

"I talked to her nurse. She has two fractured bones in her foot, a gash on her forehead and some bruising. They had to do a c-section, so she has a scar from that. They have to hold her for three more days, but might extend that due to her injuries."

"This is not good… Has she eaten?"

"Yeah, I made her eat some Gettysburger and take a bath. The nurses changed the sheets… What did you find out about the crash?"

"Jake ran a red light and a semi hit his side head on. A second car hit the tire by Olivia's feet. Jake's at the morgue right now. I identified him and I'm working on the funeral. I've got to go back to the office. I just came by to drop off her bag. Keep me updated. Let me know when she wakes up."

"I will."

/

It was an unusually busy day for Fitz. He got so caught up and pulled away by deliveries that he didn't have a chance to see Olivia until the end of his shift. When he entered the room, Olivia was asleep. She was freshly showered and her bandage had been changed. He noticed how pretty she was now that the post-birth had been washed off. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun and her eyes were closed in deep peace. She had a perfect symmetry with her features and a strong facial structure. Her lips were plump and complimentary of her large doe eyes. There was a handsome black man dressed in a sharp suit holding the baby in the corner of the room.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Grant." He whispered.

"Harrison Wright." He nodded. "I'm her friend."

"How long has she been asleep?"

"A couple of hours."

"Has she named the baby yet?"

"No." Harrison looked back at Olivia, rocking the baby softly. "Can I talk to you in the hallway for a second?"

"Of course." Fitz walked outside and Harrison followed with the baby in his arms.

"I'm worried about her mental state. She seems—detached. I don't know if it is some kind of PTSD or… Is there some kind of therapy or something you can do for her?"

"I suspected the same thing. I can introduce a therapist to her, but it is up to her whether or not she will cooperate. I'm not a psychiatrist, but I think it is important for her to have friends around her so that she does not feel alone and has some type of normal. But don't overwhelm her."

"Have you seen women post-birth like this before?"

"Post-partem is more common than most people believe. But I think that Olivia's situation is unique. She has to deal with the loss of her husband along with this new responsibility. My advice is just to be with her and make sure she doesn't feel alone."

"Thanks, Doctor." Harrison nodded.

"I'm going to wake her and check her vitals." Fitz reentered her room and gently woke her. "Hello, Olivia. How are you feeling?"

She nodded, acknowledging his presence, but didn't respond.

"Mind if I check a few things?"

She nodded again, so he began his checkup. In the meantime, her daughter woke up, wailing. Harrison tried his best to rock her back to sleep, but she persisted. Her screams only grew in intensity. Olivia's eyes widened with fear.

"No need to worry." Fitz went and took the baby from Harrison. "She's just a little hungry. Do you plan on breast feeding or bottle feeding?"

"Breast feeding."

Harrison immediately felt uncomfortable discussing his employer's breasts. "I'll go find you something to eat that is a little healthier than Gettysburger and a little more digestible than the cardboard the cafeteria here makes."

Once Harrison left, Olivia turned to Dr. Grant. He held her daughter in his arms and was waiting for her to get in position.

"If you would rather I get a female nurse, I…"

"No, I just…I don't know what to do."

"Oh. Here, untie your gown and I'll show you how to do it."

She untied the string at her neck and pulled her gown down to expose her breasts. He placed the baby in her arms and positioned the baby's head. He guided Olivia in teasing the baby's mouth with her nipple. She immediately latched her mouth onto Olivia's nipple. Olivia gasped.

"It hurts, if you haven't figured that out yet. You will get used to it over time. The good news is that she had no problems with latching. It means that she knows you are her mother and has no development problems with identifying you." He smiled as he observed the baby's feeding. "Great. You are doing it perfectly. Have you thought of a name yet?"

"No."

"I don't want to rush you, but you need a name before you can fill out paper work, get her a social security number, place her under your health insurance, etc… Did your husband and you discuss it?"

"We thought it was going to be a boy." She said somberly. He saw the raw desertion in her eyes, so he didn't push it.

Amanda knocked on the door. "Dr. Grant, I'm heading out. Dr. Chambers just arrived. He'll take over."

"Of course. Thank you Amanda, I'll see you tomorrow." He turned back to Olivia. "I know that you have had a lot of traumatic things happen to you in a very short period of time. I want you to know that it is okay to ask for help. We have a team of highly qualified therapists who would love to help you through it. We also have support groups if you want."

Olivia was silent, looking at her hands.

"Mrs. Ballard…"

"I don't need a shrink." She said shortly.

"It doesn't make you broken to ask for help. You have a little girl to think about right now. She needs you to be at your best. Do you want to think of a name? Did you think of any with your husband?"

"We thought it was going to be a boy." She whispered. "I had this… _Feeling_ ," Finally the tears came to her eyes. She brought a hand to her mouth as she tried to swallow her sobs. The baby disconnected her mouth and began to wail. Fitz quickly helped her move her to the other nipple.

"Hey, it's okay." He patted her back softly. Her expressing emotion like this was progress. "Do you want to name her after anyone? Are there any names you find pretty? We can brainstorm. You can throw options out and we can come to an answer." Fitz grabbed a notepad out of his pocket and pulled out a pen.

Olivia was silent again, fidgeting with her gown. He feared that she was retreating again.

"Olivia…" He wasn't supposed to call patients by their first name, but she flinched at the name Ballard. "Why don't you throw out some names?"

No response.

"Okay, well I'll let you think about it. I'll see you later." He patted her hand and rose to leave. He thought he almost made progress with her, but they hit a brick wall. He considered calling in for a therapist to visit her, but that was something she would have to ask for.

After he left, Olivia tied her gown back and laid the baby across her lap. She wanted to name her so badly, but every time she tried to think of a name she became overwhelmed. The images of Jake as the car hit his side were coming back to her, and she just wanted to shut down. What kind of mother couldn't name her child? Those thoughts just added to her anxiety.

Eventually, Harrison came back with a sandwich from a deli outside of the hospital. She wasn't hungry, but she forced herself to eat for the sake of keeping her health up. Harrison was happy to hold the baby for a while, which helped take some of the stress off of her mind.

/

Olivia breast fed for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. Her nipples were raw and aching, but she was determined to make it work. Harrison was kind enough to leave every time the baby got hungry, allowing her to feed in privacy. Just as she was tying her gown back, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." She called out.

Dr. Grant entered with a clipboard in hand. "Hi, I need to check some things on the baby."

Olivia handed her daughter over to him and watched as he unwrapped her from her swaddling and toughed a stethoscope to her back. Expectantly, the baby started to wail at the cold object and shift in comfort. Fitz noticed how Olivia flinched and drew back reactively.

"It's okay. I would be more concerned if she didn't make a sound." He tried to comfort her. Being around newborns all day for the last decade and a half, he was never fazed by the piercing noise of their cries.

Olivia relaxed a little bit, but still seemed on edge.

"Here." Fitz wrapped her back up and set her in Olivia's arms. "Put her cheek against your chest like this. Skin on skin contact is the best comfort. It might seem too early, but she is already memorizing your scent and touch."

Olivia took a deep breath, seeming to calm herself over it. All day she had been thinking over the name. Anytime she thought of it, Jake's last moments came to her mind. She had to train her mind like a muscle to rewind further. _Think about the times you had with him_. She forced herself to think back so far that she fixated on when they met.

/

 _She was in a coffee shop in Alexandria, Virginia, and it wasn't her greatest day._

 _Although she was sure that Edison had better. Edison, the New York junior senator that she had been dating for two years proposed to her a mere hour ago. He invited her over to surprise her with a home cooked meal._

" _Why are you doing all of this on a Tuesday afternoon?" She asked, slightly miffed by why he would be cooking chicken parma in the middle of the week, when he didn't really cook to begin with._

" _I just thought it would be a nice surprise." He kissed her on the lips as he poured her a glass of wine. "And I know you can't refuse a glass of wine, no matter how early it is."_

" _Touche." She smiled. She liked Edison. He was a nice distraction from the stress of law school and the taking the BAR in two months._

 _As they set the table and sat down to eat, Olivia couldn't help but notice something different about him. He was staring at her more intensely and kissing her more frequently. When they finished, Olivia got up to clear their plates, but he took her hand, telling her to sit._

" _There is something I want to tell you."_

" _Okay?"_

" _When I first met you, you were pretty young. I was worried that you would think of me as too old for you. But you gave me a chance, and we found this connection. I knew you were the one when you debated Nixon's political genius for the entire two hour drive back from our first date. And I know it now, as you are sitting across from me."_

" _Edison—"_

" _No, let me finish. You might still seem young. But I think you are also ready for this, because I love you and I know you love me." Edison got out of his chair and kneeled next to the table. She didn't even notice him reach into his pocket and pull out a velvet box. "Olivia Carolyn Pope, will you marry me?"_

 _Her mouth fell open and she just stared at the ring he was now displaying._

" _I know this seems soon, but I believe in us."_

" _I…"_

" _Am speechless?"_

" _I guess you could say that."_

" _Say yes, Liv."_

 _Olivia looked at his warm brown eyes and to the ring then back to his eyes. "I can't."_

" _You can't?"_

" _I'm sorry." Olivia felt herself get nauseous. She didn't know that this was where he was heading. "But I'm only 23."_

" _You are about to be 24."_

" _That isn't the point. I'm too young for this."_

" _Well, I am 32, and I feel like we are ready for this."_

" _Edison…"_

" _Do you love me?"_

" _What?"_

" _I'm asking you to take a leap into your love for me. Do you love me?"_

 _Olivia hesitated as she tossed those words through her mind. Did she love him? She didn't really know what love was, but what she felt for him wasn't necessarily bad._

" _I—I don't know."_

 _Edison sighed, flicking the ring shut and sitting back down in his seat._

" _I'm sorry."_

" _Don't be sorry."_

" _I can't marry you."_

" _I shouldn't have asked you so soon, I just thought…"_

" _Listen to me, now, Edison." Olivia stood up, her voice soft, "I'm realizing now that I am not as far deep into this as you are. I don't think I ever will be, which is worrisome because I really like you. I think you are an amazing man, which is why I have to walk away now. You deserve someone different, and if I were to stick around and wait some deeper feelings to arise, then I would be wasting both of our time."_

" _So… you are breaking up with me?" He rose as well, with his hands out in confusion._

" _Yeah, I guess I am." Wow, this was awkward on her part. She awkwardly patted his shoulder, then went to his bedroom and retrieved all of her things that she had left there._

 _As she drove home, she expected to feel sad. Shouldn't she? She just broke up with the longest boyfriend she had ever had. A successful, handsome, sweet man. But she just felt relief. She felt like she was tunneling her life into something she wasn't and was now free._

 _She pulled into a café for a cup of coffee. Even though she only had one glass of wine, she needed caffeine to pull her head back down to her shoulders. The line was obnoxiously long. She was second in line behind a guy who was taking forever to choose his pastry. Out of nowhere, his elbow jutted out, knocking her cell phone._

" _Shit, I am so sorry." He turned around as Olivia bent down to pick it up. "I didn't crack it, did I? I would hate to short-circuit your life."_

 _Olivia looked into some beautifully pale green eyes. "I think I will survive." She said with a smile._

 _But that is where she met him._

 _In a coffee shop in Alexandria, Virginia._

 _/_

"I, uh…" Dr. Grant pulled her from her daydream. "I know you said you didn't want to see a therapist, but I still want to leave these with you." He placed a pack of pamphlets by her bedside.

Olivia seemed to ignore him, looking intently at the baby across her chest.

"I understand your apprehension about seeing a therapist, but you need to talk to someone. Harrison, even. Hell, I'm here to talk to you about anything you need." He knew he was crossing a line, but he wanted to make her better. It was weird how protective he suddenly felt about this stranger before him. He watched her closely, waiting for some kind of acknowledgement, but he got nothing. As he rose to leave, she spoke.

"I don't know how to do this. I can't—I can't raise a child by myself." She whispered.

"I believe that you can." Fitz said honestly, sitting back down. "I don't think that anybody is prepared to be a mother. It is a learning process."

Olivia connected her eyes to his. "I just… Don't know what to do with her. What if I fuck up? I don't know how to raise a baby. It is unfair for her to have me as a mother—"

Olivia was becoming hysterical as she became overwhelmed. Fitz tried to calm her by rubbing a hand along her back. "Olivia, is it okay if I call you Olivia?" She nodded with a sniffle. He grabbed a tissue and handed it to her. "Olivia, when they brought you here last night, you were a mess. They had seven doctors trying to restrain all five feet four inches of you. If you could put one ounce of that strength and resilience into your daughter, I think she will turn out just fine."

Olivia smiled for the first time in twenty four hours. He watched her closely, ecstatic that there was some amusement across her face. She lifted her eyes to him for a prolonged moment of eye contact. "You don't have to stay here with me. You must have a busy schedule. I don't want to keep you."

"I'm here for as long as you need me."

"Are there… Classes on how to be a mother?" She asked, then quickly backtracked. "That sounds ridiculous. I didn't mean it like that."

"There are. I can get you the information on them. We have resources on everything you could ever want to know. All the way up to day care and toddlerhood."

"I would like that." Olivia smiled genuinely, and his heart soared because he knew it was because of himself.

"If you need anything, Dr. Chambers will be here. You know how to call a nurse."

"Thank you." Olivia smiled as he left. A couple minutes later, Harrison came in with Abbey bearing food from a local grocery store.

"Hey, Liv, how are you feeling?" Abbey asked cautiously. She didn't seem as frightened or dissociative as earlier.

"I'm fine." She dismissed. Everybody knew that she was lying but nobody pushed it.

"Your car is totaled, and I have some insurance paperwork for you to fill out when you feel up to it." Olivia held her hands out for the forms, which Abbey handed over. "Your phone was shattered on the floorboard, so Huck transferred your files over to a new one." She set the new phone on the bedside table and looked at Olivia with her lips pressed together. "May I?" She looked at the baby in her lap.

Olivia nodded, passing the baby over to Abbey.

"Oh, my god. She is gorgeous. She has your lips."

"Thank you." Olivia said slowly. "Her name is Alexandria."

"Hi, Alexandria." Abbey cooed.

"Where are we on the Senator's security system?"

"Huck tracked it to a foreign IP address. Quinn is trying to match it to her list. We should have an answer soon."

"Good. Where are we on the funeral?"

"It is set for Friday. He will be buried in Arlington because of his service in the Marines. The pentagon has personally seen that all costs are covered. I imagine that many people will show up." She cleared her throat. "He had injuries to his face, so we can't do an open casket. But if you want, we can have a closed casket visitation."

"No." Olivia shook her head. "I don't want a visitation."

"Okay. I'll imagine that you will have some visitors here tomorrow. His obituary was published in the Post."

"No visitors. Only you guys, Quinn and Huck."

"I assumed that much. I told the front desk."

"Thank you." Olivia sighed, taking a bite of food and signing her name on the form in front of her. "Harrison, get me the paperwork for Alexandria. I need to get her social and birth certificate."

"What is her full name?"

"Alexandria Ballard Pope."

"So she's taking your last name."

"Yes."

"Are you keeping his last name?"

"What?"

"Are you Olivia Ballard? Or Olivia Pope again?" Abbey asked cautiously.

"I… I don't know."

/

Fitz knew that he was late. He knew that his ex-wife would be livid at him for slipping in the back door of the auditorium twenty minutes late. His daughter Karen was in the school's play of West Side Story. She was Maria. He slipped into the crowded gym with a bouquet of daisies. He watched the high school students dance and sing around her daughter. She definitely got her voice from her mother. After the show was over, he found her with his ex-wife, Mellie, and his son Jerry.

"Dad!" She grinned as he pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, Karen. You were incredible." He handed her the flowers.

"Thanks." She took the flowers and turned to her mother. "Dad, can I go to Ansley's house? Everybody is going to be there."

"Who is Ansley?"

"She played Anita."

"How will you be getting home?"

"I'll get a ride there and uber home." She saw her dad was hesitant. " _Please_. I made an A on my book report for British Lit."

"That doesn't change anything. Be home by eleven." He gave in with a chuckle. "And if you are one minute late…"

"I know, I know. I love you Mom. Love you dad." She kissed their cheeks and pranced away.

Mellie gave him a look that let him know he wasn't about to enjoy the conversation.

"Jerry, go pull the car around. I parked on the last row." Fitz held out his keys to their oldest child, who was smart enough to know that the conversation that was about to transpire between his mother and father was not one that he wanted to be there for.

"I drove. I'll meet you at your house." He turned to his mom. "Bye, mom."

"Bye, honey. I'll see you Monday." She smiled until he was out of ears reach.

"You were late." Mellie's tone dropped to its lower octave that she only used when she was furious.

"I'm sorry. I got held up at work. I—"

"Need to do better." Mellie snapped.

"I don't see Andrew here."

"Karen isn't his daughter." Mellie scoffed. "I need you to make sure Jerry has all of his applications submitted. He is dragging his feet on Harvard and the deadline is next week. He still thinks that going to Virginia Tech will make his girlfriend want to marry him or something."

"Virginia Tech is a great school."

" _Fitz._ "

"Okay. Got it."

"And Karen got asked to Prom."

"Prom? It's January. She's a sophomore."

"She got asked by a junior. Be sensitive around it."

"Anything else?"

"Try harder." She let her voice simmer for a second before adopting her deadly smile. "Have them back Sunday night."

"Goodbye Mellie."

/

 **TWO DAYS LATER**

"I'm going for a walk." Olivia insisted.

"Liv, your foot is in a cast. You can't just…"

"Find me a wheel chair then." She fired back. She was beginning to act like her old stubborn self again. Abbey and Harrison noticed a distinct change in the last couple of days. She was communicating. She was holding her baby. She was slowly gaining life back to her eyes.

"Fine."

Ten minutes later, they were helping her into a wheel chair. When she lowered her foot off of its raised position a rush of blood and pain surged through it, causing her to gasp.

"Liv…"

"I'm fine. Shit happens." She muttered as she pulled her knit hat over her bandage, trying not to wince at the pain.

"It's freezing outside."

"Then you should put on your coat." She tucked a second blanket around herself and positioned Alex in her arms. It was her first time wearing real clothes, and even though she was wearing sweatpants a size too big and a hoodie, it was a welcome change.

"Ready?" Olivia nodded as Abbey pushed the wheelchair towards the door. Dr. Grant entered with a clipboard in his hand.

"Good evening, Mrs. Ballard. Where are you going?"

"For a walk."

"You really should keep your foot elevated."

"Told you." Abbey smirked as she backed her up towards the bed. "Abbey Whelan." She extended her hand towards Fitz.

"Dr. Grant." He accepted her hand. "I need to do some basic checkups again.

"So I can't go for a walk?"

"You shouldn't be out in the cold. Especially with Alex. She is very vulnerable right now."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Can we at least roll around the hallways?"

"I wouldn't recommend it."

"This place is seeming more like a mental institution." Olivia muttered, more of to herself.

"If you answer some questions for me, I might change my mind." Fitz held a stethoscope to her back. "On a scale of one to ten, how much pain has your foot been giving you?"

"Zero."

Abbey cleared her throat as her way of calling bullshit.

"Fine, three."

"Your head?"

"Two."

"Your abdomen?"

"Four."

"Has Alexandria had any problems nursing?"

"No."

"How many times a day have you fed her?"

Olivia sighed. "I don't know, twelve?"

"Fifteen." Abbey piped in.

"Fifteen." Olivia confirmed.

"Great. She is hungry."

"Can I go now?"

"Nope." He smiled patronizingly. "Almost done. How is your sleep schedule?"

"Nonexistent."

"Your appetite?"

"Normal."

"Would you like to leave here tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Good. You will be discharged at three tomorrow. I'll have a nurse bring you the paperwork."

"Three won't work. I need to be out of here by noon."

"I'm sorry, but protocol is—"

"I have a funeral to attend." Olivia snapped, leaving Fitz dumbfounded.

"Oh. I'm sure we can make an arrangement."

"Can I go, now?"

Fitz bent down to her wheelchair and extended the leg prop. He carefully lifted her foot, which still made her wince and exhale as he set it in the holster.

"Go up to the top floor. There is a greenhouse that we use for therapy. Tell them I sent you." He looked around at her room which was now littered with expensive looking floral arrangements. "Although, it seems you are giving it a run for its money."

"Thank you."

"And one more thing…" He scribbled on his clipboard. "Tell me how much your foot actually hurts."

"Five." Olivia muttered as Abbey rolled her out of the room.

"You didn't tell me that you had such a hot doctor." Abbey gushed as she rolled Olivia to the elevator.

"What?"

"Dr. Grant. That man belongs in GQ, not James Madison. And he wasn't wearing a wedding ring…"

"He's alright." Olivia dismissed like she didn't feel some kind of attraction to him. She noticed how handsome he was the morning after the crash when he woke her up. There was something so approachable about him. She would be lying if she said he wasn't extremely helpful to her. He was patient and gentle, giving her space at the right times.

As they rolled onto the green house floor, Alex became agitated. She started wailing, her face turning red.

"Shhh. Shhh." Olivia rubbed her back. "I just fed you. What do you want?" She unzipped her hoodie and laid Alex against her bare skin. She rubbed her back, humming lowly. Alex cried for an uncomfortable minute before tiring herself out against Olivia's skin.

"You are good at this."

"I have no idea what I am doing."

"From this angle, I'd beg to differ."

"I need to find a nanny. I can't do this by myself. I need someone trustworthy. Discreet. Someone I can feel comfortable coming around the office and not endangering our client's privacy."

"I'll make a list and set up interviews."

"Thank you." Olivia smiled. "And thank you for arranging the funeral. I know that you guys aren't my personal assistants."

"You would do the same. Over a cliff."

"Over a cliff." She repeated. They wandered around the greenhouse for a couple of minutes until a reeking scent wafted to her nose. "Okay, she needs a diaper change. Roll me back to my room."

"Aye aye, captain."

When Olivia got back to the room, she had a nurse come and walk her through it again, so she didn't mess anything up.

"You guys can go home. Get some rest. I'm going to try the same." Olivia demanded to Quinn, Harrison, and Abbey. Huck had dropped by earlier with a cup of coffee, but he wasn't one for hanging around, so she sent him back to the office with new tasks to complete. He bought her a cup of coffee every time she was in a bad place, but doing work was his way of helping.

They left, leaving Olivia to herself. She rolled onto her side, looking at her baby. She was in her onesie, wriggling her legs. She watched her from her bed for a couple minutes, before realizing that she wasn't getting any sleep. She pulled her out of her crib and laid her against her chest.

"Hi there." She whispered, taking her tiny wrist between her fingers and waving it. "You are going to have to get over this whole _no sleeping_ thing, because I'm going to have to eventually." She heard the door open. "I told you guys to go home." She said, without sitting up, knowing that it was a member of her team coming back to check up on her.

"I didn't get the memo." Dr. Grant's deep voice chuckled.

"Oh." Olivia sat up. "Sorry, I thought you were one of my friends."

"Not so lucky."

"It is late. What are you doing here?"

"I've got the night shift."

"Must be boring."

"You'd be surprised how many babies want to meet the world at 3am." He pulled a chair next to her bed. "May I hold Alexandria for a second? I need to check some things out." She handed her daughter over, and watched him undress her and check different things about her. "She is a very easy-natured child. Most babies would be wailing by now from my cold hands."

"Unlike her mother." Olivia joked, "I'm sorry about having the attitude earlier."

"I've dealt with mothers with way shorter patience than you, believe me." He smiled putting Alexandria's clothes back on. "Want me to show you an exercise to do with her."

"Yes."

"Here, hold her up like this." He positioned Alex so that Olivia was holding her up at eye level. "She needs to become more familiar with your facial features. Babies prefer faces more than any other visual stimulation. Just move her from side to side. Do her eyes follow you?"

"No." Olivia's face fell.

"It's okay. It would be rare if she did this early. But keep doing this. Over the next week or so, she will start to develop to be able to follow you with her eyes."

Emotion clouded Olivia's face, but she took a deep breath and hid it. Yet, Fitz noticed her defensive reaction.

"How are you?"

"Pain in my foot has gone down to a three, whether you want to believe it or not. My headache has deepened, but I think that has something to do with the lack of sleep…"

"No, I don't mean your injuries. How _are_ you?"

"I'm fine."

"I don't think so."

"You aren't a shrink."

"You won't see a shrink to begin with, so that is an invalid point." He put Alex back in her arms. "You can talk to me."

Olivia looked him dead in the eyes, challenging him. Finally, she spoke. "I don't know if I should keep my late husband's name, or go back to my maiden name."

"People do both, neither is a wrong choice."

"But is it selfish? Betrayal? I feel like I'm wiping him from my slate by this, but I want my daughter to have the same name as me. I don't want her to wonder why her mother has a different last name."

"He is living on through her. She will wear the Ballard name with pride and dignity." He smoothed out Alexandria's hair with his hand. "It isn't selfish. You need to think about yourself now."

Olivia didn't even notice the tears rolling down her cheeks. "I didn't want children. I told Jake that from the start, but he convinced me. He said that we were a team. I… Believed him. I loved him so much that I wanted to give him what he wanted. He was like a brother or best friend to me. We were a team. We worked together so well, we thought it would be stupid not to get married. This daughter was like a gift to him, because he wanted children so bad. He told me that she was going to be a boy, because everybody in his family was a boy, and it had to be true."

Fitz reached for a tissue, urging her to go on.

"He said that he would be here by my side, but now he isn't and I'm here with this tiny human who is my responsibility. I feel like I'm supposed to love her more. Like there is some connection that just isn't there. I don't know how to cope with it. I don't know how to make myself love her more. And I know that it is awful to even say these things out loud."

Fitz ran a hand along her back. He knew it was inappropriate, but he needed to comfort her further than words. "It will come. You need to properly grieve for your husband. You need to let that heal and the love and _connection_ with your daughter will grow."

Olivia turned her head to look at Fitz. She didn't realize that they were so close together. His hand stilled against her back. Olivia didn't think as she connected her lips to his. She brushed her lips against his, waiting for a reaction. He didn't pull away, but he didn't respond. At first. Right when regret set over Olivia, she tried to pull back, but his hand hooked under her chin, pulling her back to him. He kissed her lips back ever so gently. Olivia pulled back when she felt Alexandria wiggle in her lap.

"I, uh…" Fitz stammered as he leaned away from her. "Should go."

"Yeah." Olivia blushed awkwardly, not letting her eyes leave her daughter.

"If you need anything, you know how to call a nurse." He left her to be alone with her daughter and get some sleep.

He turned the corner to his office. It was late enough for him to catch some sleep before a patient or delivery woke him up. He saw Amanda leaving his office.

"Hey, did you need me?"

"Yeah, I was just looking for you."

"I was finishing my checkups. What do you need?"

"I need your RSVP for the Spring Fundraiser benefiting Mental Health Research."

"When is it?"

"Did you get the email? It's the third Thursday in March."

"That's far in advance. But sure. Put me down."

"And a plus one?" Amanda tapped her pen against her clipboard.

"For now, I'll be going alone."

"That makes two of us." She said. He knew that she was expecting him to say something back, but he was too tired. He hung his white lab coat up on a hook behind his desk. "You've been spending a lot of time with that mother that was in the car wreck."

"She has had a hard time adjusting to being a mother." He said dismissively.

"Well, did you see all of the flowers in her room? One of them was from the _President_. I saw the seal on the card. Apparently her husband was some high level military guy at the Pentagon. I saw his obituary in the paper—"

"Is there anything else you need from me?" Fitz asked, with his patience at a low, and all he could think about was how Olivia's lips felt against his. He had no tolerance for gossip, especially about his patients. "I'm going to get some shut eye."

"No, that is all. I'll wake you if we need you."

/

Olivia was applying foundation to her face. It felt useless. She had circles under her eyes and she looked five years older than she did a week ago. Nonetheless, she applied her makeup impeccably, trying to salvage what was left of her face. Abbey finished straightening her hair.

"Hat or no hat?"

"No hat." She gingerly touched the bandage on her forehead. She required a skin colored bandage so it wouldn't draw any more attention.

"It's not that bad." Abbey patted her shoulder.

"Ready?" Harrison asked, rocking the baby in his arms. He was dressed in a black suit. Olivia herself was wearing a black long sleeved dress with a full skirt extending to her knees. She wore a heel on her left foot, just for show, because her left foot was in a cast.

She nodded in response. "We have to wait for the doctor to come and release me."

Harrison checked his watch. "Well, he has about thirty minutes to do so."

Olivia fidgeted with her sleeve. "He'll be here." She had barely slept the night before. She couldn't tell if it was the fact that she was burying her husband of three years or if it was because she had kissed her doctor before his body hit the ground. She was so embarrassed from it all. She initiated the kiss. He must have thought of her as some unstable emotional wreck.

He walked in the room, greeting her team present. "Ready to get out of here?"

"Yes." She said meekly.

He saw that they had to clear the air. "Can I speak to Mrs. Ballard alone?"

"Guys," Olivia nodded, asking them to clear the room. When they left, Olivia turned to him. "I want to apologize for last night. I put you in a compromising position ethically and professionally."

"I understand. I am not exactly blame free, here." _God, why does she look so beautiful in that dress?_ "So why don't we just…"

"Forget it ever happened?" Olivia laughed in embarrassment.

"Yes. That is probably what is best."

"Consider it forgotten." Olivia smiled kindly. "Do you have some papers for me to sign for my release?"

"Ah, yes. Just fill the highlighted sections. Shouldn't take longer than five minutes. I'll have a nurse bring your wheelchair around."

"Okay." Olivia took the papers from him. "And can I just say thank you? You were so helpful with all of this." She motioned towards her bed and casted foot.

"That's my job." He smiled, making his exit.

"Wait…" Olivia's voice halted him at the door "Do you have a pen?"

He pulled a pen from his coat pocket. "Of course."

/

"She's doing okay." Abbey whispered.

"I don't trust it." Harrison sighed. "It's a façade."

"Well, I just hope that the façade holds for one more hour."

Olivia was sitting in her wheelchair with Alexandria asleep in her arms. The high level figures that were acquaintances of Olivia and Jake greeted her. Some came up and spoke to her, offering words of condolence and comfort. The rest just stood to the side and wondered how she was so well composed in the face of such tragedy.

"Woah." Abbey nudged Harrison to look over for his shoulder. A motorcaded rolled up to the burial site. Men in dark suits stepped out of the car and opened the door. "The President."

Harrison raised his eyebrows. "I knew they knew each other, but I didn't think…"

"Jake served with the President back in the 90s, and Liv worked or his campaign. But I thought the flowers were just formality."

The President and First Lady walked over to Olivia. They paid their condolences, and stood behind her as the ceremony began. Arlington began the ceremony for a veteran. Olivia seemed zoned out the entire time. Abbey watched her closely, waiting for some type of reaction or emotion to be displayed. The guards handed her the folded flag from his grave, but she was still emotionless.

The guards prepared to lower his casket into the ground, and Olivia finally snapped out of her trance.

"Wait." She called out to the guards. Everybody watched in silence as wheeled herself out to the casket. With shaky legs, she precariously balanced herself on her one good leg and put her hands on the casket to support herself. Harrison stepped towards her to help, but Huck put his hand on his arm, telling him to let her have her moment.

Nobody heard or knew what Olivia said with her head bowed towards the casket. She had one hand clutching the flag and the other clasped against the dark wood like a prayer. Everybody just stood there watching her. After what seemed like forever, she collapsed against the casket, her shoulders heaving with sobs.

"I don't know what to do I don't know what to do I don't know what to do." She whispered against the casket with her fists balled in angst. Harrison and Huck were at her side in a second, guiding her back to her chair. Her choked sobs echoed through the hallowed cemetery as she clutched the flag to her chest and they lowered the body of Jake Ballard into the ground.

* * *

 **So, there is the incredibly long pilot chapter. I'll have the second one up soon. Please review! Your comments motivate me to write more!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the incredible reviews. I mean, to get 50 reviews and 75 followers just off of one chapter is mind blowing. Truly. I also want t** **o answer some questions that arose in the reviews:**

 **-Fitz is about 40. He had Jerry with Mellie when he was 22, and Jerry is 18.** **Olivia is about 29. She broke up with Edison when she was about 24, met Jake, married him about 2 years later, and was married for 3 years until she got pregnant.**

 **-Sorry if these ages seem a little far apart, but when you consider their ages in real life (39 and 56) it ain't that bad. And a** **lso, if for some reason, these ages don't line up with what I wrote (it's been a while since I started this story) then just believe what I originally wrote.**

 **-ALSO, some of you had concerns about Jake's character in this story. I understand and agree that we ALL hate him. My response? Just wait ;)**

 **ENJOY Chapter 2**

* * *

 **THREE MONTHS LATER**

"Mellie, this is not a good time."

"Fitz, Jerry has something he wants to tell you." Mellie's voice was surprisingly chipper and her usual vindictive tone was absent.

"Put him on."

"Dad?"

"What's up?"

"I got accepted to Harvard." His son's excited voice practically screamed through the phone.

"No way! That is incredible. I knew you could do it."

"Thanks, dad. I honestly thought it was a long shot."

"How about for spring break, we catch a flight up there to see a Celtics game. You can officially tour and everything."

"Sounds great, Dad, but Emily and I were planning on spending it together in Florida. Remember? Aaron's parents rented a beach house in Destin."

"Oh that's right. I forgot."

" _But_ I do need to tour before I make a decision. Since I've already been accepted to college, maybe I could take a couple of days off of school?" Gerry tested the waters.

"I see what you are doing here…" Fitz began. "And I am going to have to give in. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks."

"I'll see you Wednesday."

"Bye, Dad."

Fitz slipped his cell phone into the pocket of his tuxedo. He couldn't stop from smiling. His son was going to follow in his shoes and be a Harvard boy. He knew the choice was still up to his son, but it made his spirits soar anyways. He turned to go back to the ballroom where the Hospital's Spring Fundraiser was being held.

"You look like you need a glass of champagne." Amanda approached him with two glasses. She was wearing a long black dress with a slit that bordered on inappropriate. He had to admit, though. She looked very attractive out of her lab coat.

"My son was just accepted to Harvard."

"That is worth a glass of something."

Fitz took a sip, looking towards the ballroom where everybody was mingling and dancing. "I forgot what a pain these things were."

"It is awkward without a plus one." Amanda took a sip and placed her hand on his elbow. "But we should be getting back. We don't want any rumors."

/

"Welcome back." Huck said shortly as Olivia walked through the door. "What do you need?"

"What?"

"Do you need anything? Water… Food… To sit down…"

"I'm back, Huck. I had a baby three months ago. I'm fine. Don't make this weird. Be in the conference room in thirty minutes with whatever you are working on right now."

Huck nodded, retreating to his office.

"Liv, welcome back." Harrison was sitting back with his feet on the conference room table. Quinn was distributing coffee.

"If this is how you have been treating my mahogany table…" She jokingly flicked his feet off of the table. "Then I should have returned sooner."

"How is Alex?" Quinn asked

"This morning when I was getting dressed, a Stevie Wonder song came on. She smiled and wiggled."

"So she's going to be the world's greatest throwback DJ."

"Where is Abbey?"

"Getting the ballistics report from the justice department."

"At 8:30 in the morning?"

Harrison raised an amused eyebrow.

"Okay, never mind, forget I asked."

"She is very efficient." Harrison joked.

" _Forget I asked_." She couldn't help but laugh. "I need to see the books for every job we've had in the past three months."

"On your desk."

"I expect everybody back here in thirty minutes to brief me on all of our current cases."

"Roger that." Quinn piped in.

Olivia turned on her heel and went into her office. This was her first time stepping foot in her office in the past three months. She was wearing a cast on her foot for two months, leaving her trapped to her apartment, so she just had to set up a home office to try to manage OPA from afar. As she walked through the dark décor of her office, she couldn't help but feel home. She felt like things were finally kicking back into their older gears. For the first time since the accident, she felt normal. Olivia noticed the play area for her daughter that her team must have set up. It was complete with play toys and a padded mat and a crib. There was also a changing station installed. She smiled at the memory of Harrison telling her baby that he didn't know how to 'gladiate a diaper change' but that he would figure it out. There was a note on the table that said "Welcome back".

It was a very welcome homecoming for her. Olivia Pope was back.

/

"Grant." Dr. Beene called down the hall, as Fitz was heading to the bathroom. Amanda had not shown up that day, and he was running behind.

"Yeah?"

"My office. Now."

Fitz really had to use the restroom, but he knew by Cyrus's tone that he should not challenge him. Cyrus was just recently appointed to the department head.

"What can I do for you?" Fitz said as he walked into the office.

"Shut the door behind you. Sit down."

Fitz obeyed, miffed by his harsh tone. "Is something wrong?"

"I'd say so. Thursday night, you were at the fundraiser with Dr. Amanda Tanner last night?"

"We were not dates, but we did spend a portion of the evening together."

"You were drinking."

"Yes." Fitz said, cautiously. "What is this about?"

"Amanda Tanner is claiming that you sexually harassed her last night."

"What?" Fitz raised his eyebrow. "That is ridiculous."

"Is it? She came to me early this morning with bruises to show."

"I didn't touch her. I wouldn't lie about this."

"This is a heads up. You are under review from HR. She doesn't want to involve the police, but she feels that her safety in the workplace has been compromised."

"Cy, you know me. I would never."

"It's Dr. Beene." He said with a low grave voice. "And I am putting you on administrative leave."

"I'm being put on leave?"

"Effective immediately. Your fate is left up to HR. It's out of my hands"

"Do I even get to defend myself? Is there a trial?"

"That is up to HR. I have found a doctor to fill in. You need to vacate the premises immediately and turn your credentials into the front desk." Fitz opened his mouth to respond, but Cyrus cut him off. "This is how it goes, and it would benefit you not to put up a fight in this stage of the process."

Fitz nodded, rising to leave. "I didn't do it, for the record."

/

"We've got incoming." Quinn peeked her head in Olivia's office.

"In the conference room."

Quinn nodded, taking the order.

Olivia turned back to her client who happened to be one of the NFL's poster players.

"I should be going. You have other business."

"I will let you know if the girl settles or if we need to raise the offer. We will be in touch." Olivia rose and shook his hand, before showing him the way out. As she walked back to the conference room, she caught a glimpse of the new client.

"No way." She mumbled as she opened the door.

"Hello, Olivia." Dr. Grant smiled as he extended his hand.

"What can I do for you, Dr. Grant?"

"I have a situation at work, where I was falsely accused of something, and I think it is too early to go to lawyers. I'm not too sure that it will ever reach the level where lawyers get involved, but I would prefer it doesn't go that far. I just don't know what to do, and I remember a colleague gossiping about what you do for a living when you were at James Madison, so this was the first place I thought to go."

Olivia sat down across from him at the table and her team followed suit. "Tell us what happened."

"Dr. Amanda Tanner accused me of sexual assault, which isn't true. There was a black tie event for mental health research which was hosted by the hospital a couple of nights ago. I was drunk, but not out of control by any means. We both went solo, so she gravitated towards me. She called in sick from work the past two days, and this morning my boss tells me I'm on administrative leave, because I have sexual assault charges against me. The police aren't involved, but my job is on the line. I'm supposed to be contacted by HR, but I don't want the first call to be that I'm fired.

"Have you come into contact with Dr. Tanner since the incident?"

"I emailed her, asking if she was okay, because she called in sick the next morning. I just assumed she was hungover or something. I didn't receive a response."

Olivia nodded. "Give us a moment."

Her team rose and went into her office. They stood in a semi-circle facing him. He felt like a fish in a fishbowl being dissected

"We take him." Olivia said.

"I'm down." Abbey chipped in.

Huck was silent, never giving his opinion.

"I think he's innocent." Quinn said.

"He is innocent." Olivia confirmed.

"Hold on. We have a full plate right now. This is a minnow in the ocean of problems we have. Can he even afford us?"

"I'm taking his case pro bono." Olivia flashed her eyes in Harrison's direction.

"This isn't a non-profit here. We need to build our cash flow after your absence."

"When was the last time we voted on a case?" Olivia turned to Harrison head on with a knowing smile on her face.

"Never." Harrison mumbled.

"Whose name is on that door?"

"Yours." Harrison laughed. "You really enjoy doing that, don't you?"

"We take his case pro bono." Olivia walked back into the conference room and her team filed behind her. Abbey gave Harrison a playful nudge to rub it in. They had a running bet on what cases Olivia would take or not.

"We have decided to take your case."

"Really? What do I need to do?"

"Nothing. We only have one rule here. We don't judge, we just need he truth. Withholding information from us is lying. We need to know everything that happened that night and your relationship with Dr. Tanner prior to that. First question. Coffee or tea?"

"Tea."

"Quinn, go fetch Dr. Grant a cup of tea." Olivia sat down next to him and pulled out a notepad and pen. "Now, prior to the incident Thursday night, what was your relationship with Dr. Tanner?"

"She was finishing her residency under me. I suspected she had feelings for me, but I never reciprocated. I don't date co-workers. We worked well together. She was very accommodating and hard working as far as I could judge."

"Tell me about the fundraiser."

"I went alone. At around 7:30, I got a phone call from my ex-wife. My son got into Harvard. I took the phone call in the hallway by the bathrooms to get some quiet. She approached me with champagne glasses. I was sipping on a scotch earlier, but that is when I actually started drinking. I mingled around with other people. It was the usual task of politics and having my face be shown. She was by my side the entire night, and I didn't mind. We were friends and she didn't have a date either, so I didn't see the point of being rude and ditching her. She kept refilling my glass for me throughout the night."

"How much did you drink?"

"Around five glasses. I was drunk, but not out of control. I remember everything. There were plenty of people there way more inebriated than I was."

"Did anything else happen?"

"I went to the bathroom around 11:00. I was about to call myself a cab, but she was waiting for me outside of the bathroom. She offered to drive me home."

"Had she been drinking?"

"Only a glass or two of champagne."

"Then what happened."

"She drove me home."

"So people saw you two leaving together?"

"Yes."

"Did anything happen when she dropped you off?"

"She walked me to my front door to make sure I got in safely. I could see that she was trying to make a move on me. She leaned in to kiss me, but I pushed her back _lightly_ with my hands on her shoulders. I swear, I was not aggressive in the force I used. Apparently she has these bruises, which _must_ be self-inflicted, because I can tell you that I didn't touch her except in polite defense. I told her calmly that I was not interested, and went inside."

"Do you have any neighbors that could have seen?"

"I do have neighbors, but I doubt anybody was watching."

Olivia stood up from her chair. "Stand up."

Fitz raised an eyebrow, but obeyed, standing face to face with her.

"I'm Dr. Tanner. Show me how much force you used with her."

"You can't—I'm not going to."

"Dr. Grant." She said sternly. She leaned in ever so slightly, and Fitz couldn't help but think about their kiss. She looked at him expectantly and he remembered what he was supposed to do.

"I, uh, put my hands here." He put his hands on her shoulders. "And pushed her back like this." He put a slight force against her, releasing her.

Olivia took a step back with the force, but it wasn't enough to knock her down. She turned towards her team. "Harrison, get me the legal languages on James Madison's sexual harassment policies and find out who in HR is handling this case. Abbey, get me everything on Amanda Tanner. Dr. Grant, do you live near an intersection with a traffic light?"

"Yes."

"Huck, get the footage from that traffic cam. Quinn, find out if these bruises on Dr. Tanner are true, and find out who all knows about it. I need to know what I'm working with."

She watched with a faint smile on her face as her team filed out to do their job.

"And me?"

"Have patience. My team will deliver. Just wait and trust me."

Fitz laughed, running a hand through his hair.

"What?"

"When I first met you, I asked you to trust me. I'm not sure if you remember, you were in a lot of pain and had a team of doctors trying to sedate you—"

"I remember." Olivia said softly with an amused smile.

"It is just ironic. The roles have switched."

"It appears they have."

They shared a moment of silence.

"You look well. How is Alexandria?"

"She is perfect." Olivia smiled. "She has gotten so big."

"Is she here? I would love to see her."

"She is spending her first full day with her nanny. This is my first day back at work."

"Is it hard, leaving her at home?"

"You have no idea." Olivia laughed.

"Thank you for the tea." He set his mug down. "I should let you get back to work."

"I will be in contact with you, Dr. Grant." She extended her hand.

"Please call me Fitz." He took her hand, shaking it for perhaps a moment longer than what was appropriate.

/

"Dr. Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third." Abbey pinned his picture onto their glass window. "UCLA undergrad and Harvard Med School. 42 years old. Has worked at James Madison Hospital for twenty years which includes his residency. He married his then high school sweetheart and now interior decorator Mellie Grant and had two picture perfect kids, Karen, 16 and Gerry, 18. The divorced six years ago when he found out that she had an affair with Andrew Nichols. Mellie and Andrew now have a four year old son, Teddy, while Fitzgerald gets the Karen and Gerry on odd weekends. Since then Dr. Grant has two three women, but none for longer than four months." She finished pinning up her last picture before moving on. "Dr. Amanda Tanner did her undergraduate at Virginia Tech and her med school at Emory. She began her residency two years ago. She has a dog. She also has had seven sexual partners since her residency began. None of them were boyfriends." Abbey added, a little too excitedly.

"Let's not jump to slut shaming, just yet."

"Financially, she's struggling. She's got $40,000 of debt to handle with her meager paycheck. I think whatever reason she is doing this, it is for the money."

"Quinn, what did you get?"

Quinn took the tape from Abbey and began pinning her contributions to the wall. "Amanda Tanner does have bruises along her wrists." She posted some pictures she snapped from a distance of Amanda walking to her car from her apartment. "And one along her neck."

"That doesn't look good." Olivia said. "Huck. What do you have?"

"The traffic cams show nothing. Just her car entering from one side at 10:53 and leaving from the next cam at 11:02." Huck pitched in.

"That is not nearly enough time for him to drag her upstairs and assault her." Olivia said as she paced back and forth. She stopped in front of the pictures of the bruises. "So how did she get the bruises?"

"I have bad news." Harrison entered with a stack of papers in his hand. "James Madison's code of ethics leaves little room for leniency on sexual harassment. Employees can be terminated with hypothetically no judge or jury. They have enough evidence to fire him at any minute."

"Who is on the case?"

"Jenna Kingston."

"Why does that name sound familiar?"

"This is where it gets ugly. She was in the news ten years ago for her campaign against sexual assault on college campuses after American University refused to act against the student that raped her in college. It is pretty predictable on how she will rule this case."

"What are the odds?" Olivia muttered as she looked at the wall. "Wait.. Harrison. Come here."

Harrison walked over to where she was standing while Quinn, Huck and Abbey looked on in confusion.

"Harrison, pretend you are Dr. Grant and I'm Dr. Tanner. Let's act this out from her perspective."

"You want me to sexually assault you?" Harrison took a step back.

"Yes. For the time being." Olivia tried not to laugh at how uncomfortable the situation was. "Where is the first place you would grab on a woman if you were dunk and making a fool of yourself?"

"You are assuming that I've ever done that."

" _Harrison_."

"Okay, okay." He shifted back and forth. "Men generally go for the thigh or the neck." Harrison awkwardly put his hand around the back of her neck and didn't bother to put his hand near her thigh.

"So if I were trying to get away, what would a man do?" Olivia jerked away and started to turn like she was walking away.

"Probably reach for her wrist like this." Harrison reached out to grab her wrist lik he was going to pull her back.

Olivia looked at his hand wrapped around her wrist. Harrison wasn't as tall as Dr. Grant, but his hand still swallowed her wrist. His fingers overlapped. "If you were to apply pressure to my wrist-enough pressure to bruise- where would the main marks be?"

"Where my fingers are." Harrison said assuredly.

"But your fingers overlap." Olivia pointed out. "Here's the thing. Dr. Grant's hands are much larger than hers. Much like yours are to mine. His hand would have no problem wrapping around hers. If you look closely." She taped a zoomed picture of her wrist. "The hand placing this bruise was much smaller. It is definitely self-inflicted."

"That makes sense." Quinn apprached the wall. "But it is pretty hard to bruise yourself. Someone unskilled with pain wouldn't be able to do it, unless you had some type of blood thinner."

"Which doctors have access to all of the time." Abbey piped in. "So we've determined that he is innocent. The camera footage does not lie, and the only proof she has is dismissable. This is no longer a he-said-she-said case."

"What we know for certain is that this is a set up, but what is the motive? If she was crushing on him earlier, then why try to frame him for sexual assault?" Olivia asked out loud.

"Unless he is lying about their previous interactions. He could have spurned her earlier and she was bitter." Abbey remarked.

"Huck, pull up her bank accounts and cell phone history. See if there are any large payments or patterned phone calls within the last month. Quinn, tail Amanda. I want to know who she meets with. Harrison, look deeper into the contract for any loopholes. Abbey, dig deeper into Dr. Grant's relationships with his co-workers. If there is anybody who has an axe to grind with him or would benefit from his termination I want to know. Let's try to crack this by the end of the day."

"Full cylinders?"

"Full cylinders. Get to work."

"It's good to have her back." Harrison whispered to Abbey on their way out.

Once her team left, she called the number he left them.

"Dr. Grant." He answered.

"This is Olivia Pope, Are you still in town?"

"Yeah, I'm about fifteen minutes from your office."

"I'm going to need you to come in. We have something."

"I'm on my way."

She knew that their conversation could have happened over the phone, but she wanted to see him again. She wanted to look him in the eyes and tell if he was lying about Dr. Tanners history with him-although she knew he wasn't. After he hung up, she placed a call to her nanny. "Hey, I know you were supposed to have her for another two hours, but if you bring her by the office, you can go home early… Yeah, I miss her a little too much. Thank you."

The truth was that she did miss her. The entire day, she was resisting facetiming the nanny so she could see how she was doing. But she also wanted Fitz to see her baby. She wanted to show him how well she was doing with her.

When Fitz arrived, she showed him to the conference room. He stared in wonder at her glass wall that was now covered in pictures of evidence.

"It looks like a real crime scene happened here." He went over to the pictures of him and his family. "You guys are thorough."

"You saw my medical history when I was your patient. I was just returning the favor."

"Touché."

"Please." She motioned for him to take a seat. "Amanda Tanner is lying, and we have proof." She motioned to her first picture. "Her car passed the traffic camera at the corner to the east of your home at 10:53. Then her car passes the traffic camera to the west at 11:02. That is nine minutes that you hypothetically dragged her up to your room and assaulted her, which accounting for the time to walk to your door and for her to start her car is unlikely. She could have claimed that you tried it in the car, but that is also proven false by the bruises on her wrist. Dr. Tanner is one inch taller than me, but let's assume we have the same wrist size. Wrap your hand around my wrist."

He did, noticing how his hand swallowed her wrist.

"If you placed your hands on her, the finger bruises would have overlapped. If you look at this picture, the bruises are further apart. Much like if they were caused by a hand my size." She demonstrated on her own wrist.

"So I'm cleared."

"Not so fast. James Madison has strict sexual harassment policies and you should expect a phone call at any minute with your termination notice."

"But we have evidence. I can just run it over there and they will clear my name."

"You could do that. That is option one." Olivia leaned against the table next to where he was sitting.

"The other option?"

"Give my team a little more time to determine the motive of Amanda Tanner. Did she ever come onto you before?"

"No."

"Did she ever get the impression that she was being rejected by you before?"

"No. We had a very professional and friendly relationship."

"Then her motive could line up with finances. Someone could be paying her student debts in exchange for this. Given James Madison's strict sexual harassment policy, they probably knew that they could get you kicked out for little to no reason. Does anybody at the hospital have it out for you? Think hard about this."

Fitz ran a hand through his hair, a tick she noticed he did when he was thinking or stressed. "I don't think so. I love my job. I have had a great relationship with all of my colleagues."

"Think about any people outside of your work. Perhaps your ex-wife?"

"I'm not her favorite person in the world, but she would never do this. She relies on my paycheck for our kids' college funds."

"Keep this in mind. My team is looking for the motive and perpetrator, but anything you can think of could help us out."

There was a knock on the door, and Olivia looked up to see her nanny with Alex. "And someone wants to see you." She walked over to retrieve the baby from the nanny. "Thank you Patricia."

"She has gotten so big." Fitz walked over to her.

"Say _hi_ , Alex."

The baby just cooed and put her fist to her mouth.

"Hi, little Alex." Fitz said in his best baby voice. "May I?"

"Of course." Olivia passed her over to his arms.

"Oh my gosh, you have gotten so heavy." He kept his voice in soft tones. "Woah…" He held her out further from him. "I think you got a little too excited to see me."

"Here, I have a changing station in my office." She took the smelly baby from him and he followed her into her office.

She laid the baby on the station and began to change her diaper.

"I must be the lowest profile client you've ever had here." He commented, taking a seat.

"I help all types of people."

"I saw Marquis Oliver leave when I came. I'm a closeted Seahawks fan."

"I help all types." She said again as she wiped Alex's bottom with a baby wipe.

"But this isn't a law firm."

"We are all lawyers, but we operate outside of traditional law firm duties. We are crisis management."

"So what crisis was Mr. Oliver in?"

"Doctor patient confidentiality." She smiled as she sat with Alex in her lap on the carpet. She grabbed some toys and held them for her to play with.

"I had to give it a shot." He smiled warmly. "How have you been?"

"Pain in my foot has been reduced to a zero, believe it or not. My abdomen as well. Yet my head has risen to a solid five, but I think it is because this one won't sleep for longer than four hours."

"You know what I mean."

"Well. Better. Improving."

"You look better." _You look beautiful._ He wanted to say. She was breathtakingly beautiful in her tailored slacks and satin sleeveless top. She had a long hanging necklace that Alex was fascinated with, pulling it into her mouth.

"Thank you." She blushed. His gaze on her did not go unnoticed. "I never got an answer about the options. Do you want to turn her in now? Or wait."

"If I turn her in now, then I get my job back immediately. If I wait, I could lose my job but find the real motive. That would involve lawyers and perhaps the police."

"If you turn her in now, then you run the risk of another metaphorical hit being put out on you."

Fitz ran his hand through his hair again in deep thought. "What would you do?"

"I would wait. It is riskier, but it would be best to holistically put all of this to bed. It might be harder to get your job back, but we will get your job back." There was a weighty promise in her last statement. "No one is better than Olivia Pope & Asociates."

"So I will wait." He said.

Alexandria stole their attention as she babbled, reaching towards Fitz. He got the message as he shifted to the floor, scooting over to her. Olivia held her under her arms above the ground so her feet were placed on the ground. Alexandria wiggled like she was running, excited to get closer to Fitz.

"She likes you." Olivia handed her over to Fitz who settled into a criss-crossed position, bouncing her on his knee.

"She is very intelligent." He joked, earning a laugh from Olivia. Alexandria looked at Fitz as a smile broke across her face, followed by a soft giggle.

"Did she just—"

"Laugh?"

"That is her first laugh." Olivia's eyes got misty.

"Really?"

Olivia nodded.

"Well then I'm glad it was because of me." He said as he jiggled a plush elephant in front of her.

"Here." Olivia grabbed a baby bouncer and placed it in front of Fitz. "She likes being in this."

Olivia positioned Alex in the bouncer. Alex was immediately smiling with the elephant in her mouth. It didn't occur to Olivia that her leg was pressed against Fitz as she watched him play with her daughter. He was such a natural reacting to every little move she made. She thought about their kiss and wondered what he thought about it over time. Alexandria became fixated with Fitz's hand, pulling his finger into her mouth to suck on. Olivia couldn't stop but smiling when she made a connection in her mind.

"What?" He asked, looking up at her. He noticed her smile morph into a giggle she stifled in her hand.

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"It occurred to me, that you have a problem."

"A problem? What kind of problem?"

"A problem with girls putting their mouths on you."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Alex… Amanda…Me…" She blushed but kept eye contact with him.

A deep chuckle came out of his chest. "So what does that say about me?"

 _That you are distractingly handsome._ Olivia laughed, "Maybe that you attract unsolicited circumstances?"

"Not all have been unsolicited." He dropped his baby voice. The deep tone of his words, made Olivia at loss for words.

"If I kissed you now, would it be unsolicited?" Olivia bit her lip lightly as she watched his eyes settle on her lips.

He tucked a finger under her chin and pulled her lips to his. He brushed his against hers lightly, giving her a chance to back away. When she didn't he kissed her bottom lip, softly capturing it with his. She grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer. His hand snaked around to her waist, scooting her body closer to his. Olivia sucked his tongue into her mouth, making him moan softly. Their kiss was slow, but there was definite sexual tension that had been boiling between them for a while.

They were so engrossed with one another, that they didn't hear the knock on the door.

"Olivia?" Huck called out, obviously uncomfortable with having to intrude.

"Shit." Olivia muttered as she jumped out of Fitz's arms. "What do you have?" She asked as she stood up, smoothing out her clothes.

"Two deposits. $2000 each from a bank account. It was very easy to track the source. A private account that was opened a day before the first payment. It is tied to a fake identity, but if you want I can hack IP address that set up the account. Should I keep digging?"

"Yes, Huck. Thank you."

Huck nodded, leaving them alone. Olivia turned back to Fitz who was embarrassed by being caught.

"I'm so—"

"Don't apologize." She cut him off as she reached for Alex. "Because I'm not sorry."

"I'm not either." He chuckled as he stood as well. "I should go, I don't want to be an imposition."

Olivia nodded. "I will let you know when we have something concrete. Keep thinking about anyone who could be behind it."

"Will do." He turned to Alex in Olivia. "Goodbye, Alex."

/

"I've got nothing." Abbey groaned, rocking back in her chair. She had a baby laid across her chest, asleep, so she kept her voice low. "I can't find any signs of conflict between his coworkers or anyone who would benefit. This guy is like a saint."

"I'm not having any success either. This is the tightest contract I've ever seen." Harrison sighed as he flipped another page. "Is Huck in his office?"

"Yeah, he's in his weird spy zone." Abbey shrugged.

"It probably means he's more successful than us."

"What about Quinn?"

"If we haven't heard from her, then she hasn't found anything yet."

"Fuck, I just don't know how to approach this."

"Hey, don't cuss in front of the baby. We don't want her first word to be ' _F you_.'"

"Wait… That's it." Abbey perked up.

"What?"

"Dr. Grant is an OBGYN. It could be a patient that is mad. Maybe their child didn't turn out okay… Or was stillborn. You can't fire the doctor if he tried his best…"

"But you can get him fired in another way." Harrison caught on.

"I'll go look up every unhealthy baby delivered by Grant." She typed furiously into her computer.

/

"Hey, have you found anything?" Quinn asked. She had her feet up in the car as she waited for Amanda to leave the book store she was shopping at.

"I think so. I'm trying to find the IP address the guy used to pay the girl."

"Well, I'm bored." She sighed. "Amanda Tanner lives the most boring life. I doubt that she would have the stupidity to meet with this mystery person in the flesh. Wait, how hard would it be to hack the hospital's security footage?"

"They are a lot less encrypted than a bank, so… three minutes?"

"Could you—"

"Yep."

"Thanks, Huck." She smiled. At least she would have something to watch to pass the time by. She skimmed through the footage until someone was in the footage with her. She had been watching for about thirty minutes until she saw a figure appear. He was tall and had slicked back blonde hair. He was also wearing a white doctor's coat. It seemed unlikely that a doctor would be visiting her in her on call living quarters. She screenshotted his face, zooming in. Then she pulled up a list of doctors and tried to match it.

"Dr. William Chambers." She mumbled as his picture popped up. "Huck?" She held her phone to her ear.

"Dr. Billy Chambers."

"You found his IP address?"

"Yeah. It traced to his home in Bethesda."

"Well I have security footage of him in Tanner's living quarters."

"We have our guy."

"Wait… He is going into the bookstore now."

"Take the mic."

"Okay."

Quin situated the long distance mic into her jacket and went into the bookstore. She found Amanda in the children's book section with Billy a couple of feet away. When she walked down their aisle, they were silent, but when she crossed two aisles away, she heard them speaking through the mic.

"I want more." Amanda whispered in a hushed voice.

"More? We agreed to $6,000."

"That was before I had to _abuse_ myself to make it believable."

"So what, you had to bruise yourself. He is going to receive his termination tomorrow. _Then_ you will receive your final payment."

"Billy—"

"That is the end of it."

"You could pay more."

"When I say that is the end of it, _I mean it_."

/

"I'VE GOT IT." Quinn squealed excitedly as she skipped through the door. "I have recorded proof of Billy's involvement."

"Shhh." Abbey rocked the sleeping baby in her arms.

"Sorry." Quinn whispered. "But you are going to want to hear this."

"I'll put her down." Olivia reached for her baby and took her into her office to lay her in her crib. Alex had been passed from gladiator to gladiator as everybody wanted to hold her as they worked.

"Huck already got the owner of the bank account. It is Dr. William "Billy" Chambers." Olivia said as she returned to the conference room. "What do you have?"

Quinn played the recording of them talking about the payments.

"So we still don't know Billy's motive." Olivia paced in front of the wall of pictures. "He wouldn't benefit from his job being vacant…"

"Oh, I know why." Abbey grinned triumphantly as she typed away at her computer.

"What?" Olivia asked impatiently.

"Over the past seven years, Dr. Grant has had two deaths related to his deliveries. One was a stillborn belonging to a woman with a history of drug abuse. The _other_ was a mother that didn't make it through the delivery. Her name was Candace Jenkins. She was a high end prostitute that was taken out of the game by an unexpected pregnancy. She went into labor in February, but didn't make it. The baby was shuffled into an adoption agency and adopted by a family in Alabama."

"How does this relate to Billy?"

"Billy Chambers might be married, but he did like to dabble in other women. My bet is that the baby was his, and he was planning on financially supporting his mistress, while keeping her on the side."

"I need proof. We are working against a clock here. Let's try to fix this before he has to fight to get his job back."

"I'll scan his accounts for around the time the baby was conceived."

"Quinn, find me any hospital records or DNA test on the baby that could point to Chambers's paternity."

"On it."

Olivia went back into her office and came back with a thick envelope in her hand. "Harrison, get back on the Marquis Oliver case. I'm going to need you to pay a visit to a young Janice Cooper. She has video footage of him in bed after they committed acts that he doesn't want wife and young child to know about. There is $100,000 and a non-disclosure agreement in this envelope. Convince her that this is the best route."

/

"Good afternoon, Jenna." Abbey said casually as Jenna Kingston approached her

"Uh, I'm sorry. Have we met?"

"No, we haven't. And as soon as I leave here, you are going to forget that we ever did."

She reached for her cell phone. "I'm calling police."

"I wouldn't. I come in peace. I am not here on any official capacity, but I do have something that will help you do your job better. You are currently handling the case where Dr. Fitzgerald Grant was accused of sexually assaulting Dr. Amanda Tanner. In the morning, you are probably going to call Dr. Grant and inform him that he is terminated from his position at the hospital, therefore ruining his career. I just have some information for you to consider before you make your decision." Abbey handed her a file of all of the evidence OPA gathered.

Jenna flipped through it, her eyes widening. "How…uh, how did you obtain this? This is illegal information."

"It is information that can easily be subpoenaed if a lawsuit was filed against James Madison for unjustly firing an employee under a false accusation."

"How do I know this isn't fabricated?" She stammered, backing against her car.

Abbey smiled sympathetically. "I have been in the victim's shoes, just like you. I know how it feels to have a man put his hands on you and get away with it. I wouldn't be here if he was guilty. If you ignore that file in your hand, you weaken our argument against the actual bad guys. If a lawsuit is filed and the press gets a whiff—which they will—then think about how many women will be dismissed when they are actually assaulted."

Jenna's face was shook with conflict.

"You can take this home with you and look over it tonight before you make your decision in the morning."

/

"Well?"

"I took care of it." Abbey answered, plopping down in her chair.

"So now we wait and see what she decides." Olivia addressed her team. "Good work. I will see you all tomorrow."

/

It was ten o'clock in the morning, when Olivia saw Fitz knocking on the glass door to her office. She motioned for him to come in.

"Good morning." She motioned for him to take a seat.

"I got called into work this morning for a meeting with my boss. I was reinstated to my position and informed that both Dr. Billy Chambers and Dr. Amanda Tanner were terminated immediately."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"You saved my life in under twenty four hours."

"That is what we do." Olivia smirked in pride.

"Thank you so much for this." He sighed. "I don't know what I would have done if I got fired. It would be impossible to be hired with a sexual assault claim on my file."

"I'm glad we could help." Olivia smiled warmly.

"How much do I owe you?" Fitz pulled out his checkbook.

"That won't be necessary." Olivia held a hand up in resistance.

"This isn't a charity, Olivia. I may not have the net worth of an NFL player, but I do make a living."

"Consider it pro-bono." She walked around her desk and leaned against the front of it, facing him. "You went out of your way to help me recover when I was in the hospital, so I am returning the favor."

"What about your team? They owe me nothing."

"They agreed to do it pro-bono from the start." Olivia smiled.

"I would try to argue with you, or find some loophole in your logic, but I've seen what you do to get your way. Hacking traffic cameras and bank statements? Digging up buried pictures from twenty years ago? I think it would be useless."

"I always get what I want."

"I can tell." Fitz put his checkbook back into his briefcase and traced his finger along her hand, "Since you won't let me pay you, could I at least buy you dinner?"

Olivia bit her lip subtly and didn't respond.

"Come on, I think your work here is worth a fifty dollar dinner at any white tablecloth establishment of your choice."

"How is tomorrow at seven?"

"I will pick you up." They both rose and he leaned in to kiss her cheek. She instinctively brought a hand to his cheek as he pulled away. "I look forward to it."

* * *

 **Please review! I will post the next chapter soooooooon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**THANK YOU for the reviews. I mean it when I say that even harsh criticisms are welcome, because that is how we improve as writers. And to the positive reviews I love you guys so much.**

 **Anyways, enjoy Chapter #3. Let me know (good or bad) whatchuthink.**

* * *

"She's seeing someone." Harrison concluded as he twirled his iPhone in his hand.

"What? How do you know?"

"I caught her smiling in her office earlier. She doesn't smile."

"Maybe she was thinking about Alex." Abbey defended.

Harrison gave her a _that is not a smile you smile when thinking about your daughter_ look.

"Huck, who is Olivia seeing?" Abbey asked.

Huck was silent, looking at her with narrow eyes.

"Oh, God, you know."

Still no response, earning a snicker from Harrison.

"Blink if I don't know him."

Huck stared didn't break eye contact.

"Blink if I do know him."

He still didn't blink, maintaining his cryptic steely stare.

"Good God, Huck, give me _something_."

"If she wanted you to know, you would know."

/

"Thank you for watching her on such late notice." Olivia said as she slipped a heel on.

"I don't mind, Ms. Pope. It is important for you to get out and spend some time on yourself." Patricia Mitchell said. In terms of the nanny business, she was the best on the market. Olivia was grateful that she agreed to work for her.

The doorbell rang and Olivia went over to the mat on the floor where Alexandria was lying on her tummy. "Be a good girl, Alex." She lifted her up so that they were eye level, planting a kiss on her cheek. "I love you." She planted a kiss on her other cheek before setting her back down.

She walked over to the door and straightened out her dress before opening the door.

"Hi." He was dressed in a sports jacket and crisp white button down. He looked strikingly handsome and it kind of left Olivia speechless.

"Hi." She replied as he took her appearance in. She had a sleeveless white dress that hugged her body.

"You look beautiful." He said honestly.

"Thank you." She blushed. He extended his arm to her as he led her to her car.

He drove her to a restaurant on the Potomac with a beautiful view of downtown DC. Once they were seated, a water approached them for their drink order.

"I'll have your house cabernet." Olivia said, immediately regretting her words. When the waiter walked away, Fitz notice something was wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"I completely forgot that I can't drink alcohol while breast feeding."

"As long as you don't pump or feed for a few hours after drinking, you will be okay." Fitz chuckled at her dilemma.

"Oh." Olivia blushed as the waiter poured her glass. "I haven't had a glass of wine in over a year this is going to be a real treat."

He watched closely as she took a sip from her glass. He watched he way her lips drank in the dark red liquid and the soft moan that came from her lips.

"Wow, wine has never tasted so good." Olivia laughed as they placed their orders with the waiter and got to know one another while they waited for the food.

"So tell me, how did you get into this line of work?"

"I was a lawyer until our current president ran for office. When he was inaugurated, I was offered a position in his administration, but I realized that I didn't want to be tied down. I prefer running my own firm and being the boss."

"I'd say so, if you left a senior position in the West Wing."

"Politics are too messy and emotional." Olivia's eyes narrowed. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Yes."

"Why did you and your ex-wife break up?"

"We fell out of love with me and she found love in another man."

"I'm sorry." Olivia took another sip. "Then why does she have custody of your children?"

"I had to do what was best for them. They were barely in middle school, and they needed a consistent parent. Her job allowed for her to be home at 4 everyday, and I knew that they needed their mother for consistency."

"Was it tough for them to see their parents split?"

"Yeah. I mean, they were in middle school, so they were old enough to understand all of it. It was kind of tough for them to live with their mother after we told them what she did, but I think it helped them amend their relationship with her by default."

Olivia soaked up his answer. He showed a real humble sacrifice and it was incredibly attractive to her. Her phone rang, pulling her attention to her purse.

"I'm sorry, I thought I silenced it." She checked her phone out of habit. It was Harrison. "Do you mind?"

"Go ahead." Fitz commented in good nature.

"What?" She answered.

"You need to get to the office. _Now_."

"Harrison, I can't. I'm in the middle of something."

"We need you here."

"Why? What is it?"

"I can't say over the phone."

"You are going to have to handle it yourself. I've already put Alex down—"

"I don't want to have to tell you again." Harrison's voice was a tone he didn't use often. "You need to get here _as soon as possible._ I can't tell you what it is over the phone, I just need you to get here now."

The call ended, and Olivia looked at her phone screen, then up at Fitz.

"I have to go. I'm so sorry." She looped her arm through the straps of her purse. "Stay and enjoy your dinner. I can call a cab."

"No," Fitz pulled his wallet out of his pocket and threw some bills on the table. "I'll drive you." He rose, helping her into her coat. He drove her to her apartment, parking on the side of the street.

"I'm sorry about all of this."

"I understand—." He tried to say, but she cut him off with a kiss. He immediately wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck, not letting her pull back just yet. Her mouth was soft and molding against his. He could taste the wine off of her tongue. Their kiss was heated, but brief as Olivia reluctantly pulled away. "That just made it worth it." He whispered, holding her head in the same place and looking into her eyes.

"Goodnight, Fitz." She whispered, pecking his lips again before exiting his car.

/

"What the hell is going on?" Olivia demanded in a hushed, angry tone. She had to wake Alex up from her sleep to bring her there. After a tearful car ride, Alex finally calmed down and drifted back to sleep in her car seat. "Wait, nobody answer that yet."

She stomped into her office, where she set Alex down. She returned to find her team in a half circle. They were looking at her with concern.

"What?"

"You need to sit down." Huck said in a matter-of-fact manner.

"I need you to tell me what is so important that I had to wake my child up right as she was starting a regular sleeping schedule, just so that I could come here."

Everybody was silent until Huck broke it.

"We found your father."

"You found my father? Who told you to go looking for him?"

"Your father found us." Harrison interjected. "Please, have a seat."

Olivia reluctantly took a seat. She didn't like the dynamics here. She didn't like the way they were looking at her.

"We don't think that Jake's death was an accident. And we don't think that your father was who he said he was." Harrison laid some pictures out on the table in front of her. Olivia looked at each one individually. There was a picture of him when she last saw him—his hair was full on top of his head and he was just like she remembered. Then her eyes settled on a picture of him in the present. His hair was white and shorter. It was a picture from a security camera. Olivia gasped when she realized where it was taken.

"This was taken—"

"On the corner by your apartment building."

"How… What is going on here?"

"Take a seat, Liv." Abbey said, pleading with her eyes.

Olivia reluctantly sat down, wondering why her employees were treating her like a cancer patient waiting for a diagnosis.

Huck spoke up. "I looked into the car crash you were in. The type of contact shown by the traffic camera didn't match the injuries that caused Jake's death, according to his autopsy. His injuries should have been fixed, but they weren't."

"Huck looked up the surgeon in charge of Jake. He was a new transfer. Only a week old. The surgeon had multiple instances of contact with this man, who we think is now going by Rowan."

"My father…"

"Rowan's identity popped up around 1994. The same year he disappeared." Quinn piped in.

"What does any of this mean?"

"We don't know yet." Harrison paced. "All we know is that it _looks_ like your father put a hit out on your husband…" He trailed off. "Or you."

"Me? What motive?" Olivia began to pace as well.

"We will find out."

"For now," Huck slid a burner phone across the table. "Only communicate with us about him through this. Talk to everybody else through your regular phone."

"Is he watching?"

"We don't know. A man that can disappear like that and come back 21 years later… He has powers and skills." Huck's eyes darted a little bit.

Alex's screams sounded out from her office. Olivia got up to go placate her. "Give me a minute."

Harrison tried to follow her into her office, but Huck pulled him back with a look.

Once Olivia had Alex calming down in her arms, she let her mind race. She had so many emotions, she didn't know how to begin to process them. As she rocked her daughter in her arms, she tried to make sense of it all.

Her memories of her father were positive. He was always pushing her to be better in a tough love way, which she had to be grateful for now. She used to love visiting him in the Smithsonian, because he would let her wander the halls of the Natural Science museum without adult supervision. Yet, the day after her mother died, he was gone. Just like that. He packed a suitcase and left in the middle of the night. Olivia woke up with puffy eyes from crying about her mother to find an empty house. She assumed he was at work, but who goes to work the day after their spouse dies? She waited around all day, until nighttime. She didn't know what to do, except for call her friend. She stayed with her friend for three days until her mother child protective services. She was swiftly placed into foster homes until she graduated.

She always wondered why he left. Was he so grief-stricken that he couldn't handle to see Olivia everyday? Did he ever even love her? Or did he never want to be a father, and saw a way out? What man abandons his daughter a day after her mother dies?

She also wondered what happened to him. Was he a bum living on some park bench? Did he become an alcoholic, wandering the streets after midnight? Maybe he found a new wife and had a new family—one with less emotional baggage. Maybe the thought of his daughter every night like a weight on his chest, or maybe she was nothing more than a memory and a distant regret. Did he commit suicide? Maybe he didn't want her to know that her father killed himself, so simply disappearing was a kinder exit.

But he was still alive. And somehow possibly linked to Jake and his death. Why would he kill her husband? Why would he kill anyone? This man was not the mild mannered but stern man who she knew for nine years. What did he want with her? Was Jake involved in something deeper?

Olivia clutched Alex to her chest tighter as she realized what this meant now. She had a daughter to protect. She put her in her carrier, and took her home. She wanted to shut out the voices in her head, but they were pounding questions relentlessly.

As she was strapping Alex into the car seat, her phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. It was Fitz.

"Hi." She whispered.

"Hi, I just wanted to check up on you and make sure everything was okay."

"Everything is fine."

"Everything doesn't sound fine."

She paused, pulling out onto the street. "Everything is not fine."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can't talk to you about it." She said softly.

"Okay." He accepted without a fight. "What do you need?"

"What?"

"What can I do to make this better?"

"I don't think you can do anything." Olivia said, honestly.

"If there was something I could do, would you let me know?"

"I will now."

"Goodnight, Olivia."

"Goodnight, Fitz."

Olivia was exhausted as she went through her nightly routine. When her head hit her pillow, she realized that sleep was useless. Every time she closed her eyes, his eyes were level with hers. Shamelessly watching. She pulled out her phone and called the one person who could distract her.

"Hello again." Fitz said in a calming voice.

"Hi."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Olivia took a deep breath. "Can we talk about you?"

"You want me to talk about myself?"

"Tell me about California. I need you to take my mind off of what is it on right now, so I want you to tell me about high school and college and what your prom was like and how many bones you broke doing stupid things to impress your friends."

"Where do you want me to start?"

"What sports did you play as a child?"

"My parents made me play every sport as a child. Soccer, Tennis, Baseball, Basketball, and most importantly, Football. I only stuck with Football all the way through high school. I quit the baseball team my 9th grade year, because the coach was a jack ass. I almost had a serious arm injury, because he was overplaying me."

"You were the pitcher?"

"Yeah."

"What position did you play on the football team?"

"Quarterback. I wasn't competitive enough to sign to a Division I school, but I enjoyed it. It made me popular. It landed me my ex-wife."

"Tell me about her." Olivia said with a slight laugh. "If that isn't too wierd to ask."

"We went to the same high school. She was the prettiest girl at the school. My junior year prom, my friend asked her to prom. I was so mad, because he knew that I was going to ask her. We went in the same group, and she ended up ditching him for me. One year later, we were prom king and queen."

"Did she go to UCLA with you?"

"She went to Pepperdine. We were steady in college. It was hard for both of us being eighteen in the party culture, but we made it. We would flip a coin to see which campus to go to each weekend. When I was accepted to Harvard's med school, we married and she was suddenly pregnant with Jerry. It all happened way too quickly. I think that if we gave it more time to get to know ourselves more, we would have seen that we weren't compatible in the long run."

"What was the most trouble you got into in high school?"

"I got expelled on the first day of my senior year. Each year the senior class would go out to the high school the night before and decorate the school. There usually wasn't security after all of the teachers went home, but the police were waiting for us. Because we were all from nice families, they didn't press charges. We just got three days of out of school suspension."

"Were your parents mad?" Olivia yawned, feeling the effects of her long night.

"They were _furious_. I had my car keys taken away for an entire month."

"Were you an only child?"

"I have a younger brother, Joey. He is stationed in San Diego in the Navy. The lucky bastard is going to retire before me with government benefits."

"Are you two close?"

"Yeah. We don't talk much, but we are close. I could call him up right now, and he would drop what he was doing and catch a red eye to DC."

"When did you have your first kiss?"

"I was in eighth grade. It was during PE class, and we went behind the bleachers."

"How scandalous." Olivia smiled, which turned into another yawn. "Thank you for talking to me. Your voice helps."

"By ' _helps_ ' you mean puts you to sleep."

"That is not what I meant." Olivia giggled.

"I'm glad I could help. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

/

"Sweet." Huck mumbled to himself. He had just hacked into the FBI's most secure watch list and no fly list. He hacked the FBI every now and then, but he hated it when they periodically changed their security interface. As he put the database into the Q-R Facial Recognition software, there were no matches with Eli Pope's face. He couldn't find anything on this man. It was almost like he was operating under some kind of approval from the U.S. Government.

"Have you found anything?" Quinn poked her head into his office.

"No." Huck pressed some more buttons with a series of screens flashing in front of him. "He is untraceable."

"What about the people he has come into contact with: Jake Ballard, Maya Pope, and the surgeon. The surgeon has disappeared. Jake, however, is traceable. You can probably find all of his information and Olivia can give you whatever you can't find. Also her mother has to have left some breadcrumbs. Trace it back to him."

Huck just nodded as he typed away.

/

Abbey slowly opened the door to Olivia's office. She noticed Olivia leaning against her desk, staring out of the window for a couple of minutes. She was as still as a statue.

"Liv, how are you—"

"How are we doing on the Marques Oliver case?"

"She took the money and signed the papers." Abbey answered. "Are you okay?"

"Good work on that. We should be receiving the check soon."

"Answer my question."

"I'm fine."

"Liv, your father is alive. Fine isn't an option."

"Business as usual."

"But—"

"Get me the polls on Governor Gadsen's press release. I also want to know which papers are questioning his credibility."

"Okay. Got it." Abbey nodded as she walked away.

/

Olivia was so incredibly tired from her day. It was business as usual, but her team was looking at her differently. They were watching her closer, like any second she would break. She felt close to it, too. Despite her phone conversation with Fitz, she got little sleep the night before. So as she changed into her sweatshirt and poured herself a glass of wine, she tried to let herself relax.

She turned a news station on, but muted it once her phone rang.

"Hello." She said.

"Hey, Olivia." Fitz's deep voice came through the speaker like a warm blanket. "I feel bad about how our night ended last night. I understand, an emergency popped up, but I want a redo."

"I that so?"

"I mean, you should too. You didn't get to finish your shrimp linguine, and that is a crime against humanity."

"I guess you have a point." Olivia giggled.

"Where are you?"

"I'm at my apartment."

"Wow. That is such a coincidence, I happen to be outside of your apartment right now."

Olivia laughed as she walked out of her apartment. She didn't care that she was wearing an oversized sweatshirt and leggings as she took the elevator down to the street. He was standing there with two takeout plates from the restaurant they were at in his arms.

"Wow. Such a coincidence." Olivia said through the phone, before hanging up.

"Hi."

"What would you have done if I said I wasn't home?"

"Eaten this all by myself and then have intense food guilt in the morning."

"I wouldn't want that to happen. Come on in."

Olivia showed him upstairs to her apartment. They settled on the couch, watching the news and eating their late dinner. By the time they finished eating, Olivia was nestled against his side, with her feet tucked under her. Fitz's hand traced along her shoulder and down her arm in nonsensical patterns. Olivia was trying to focus on the tv, but his fingers were capturing her attention. She shifted, trying to ease her restlessness. She glanced up at hhim, only to find that he was staring at her face. Without much thought, they did waht they had been dying to do, and that was to kiss one another.

Watching the news transitioned into playfully debating the news, which ended up with Olivia straddling him, peppering his lips with kisses.

It was just what she needed after her week. Some normality. His hands teasing her sides were like a drug easing the weight from her shoulders. His kisses were dizzying, like downing two glasses of wine within seconds.

When his hand slid under her shirt, she had to remember who she was. "I'm not ready to sleep with you tonight." She whispered against his cheek.

Her statement earned a deep seated chuckle from him. "I'm okay with that." He withdrew his hand and let it settle on her waist. He could tell that something was still bothering her underneath, even though she was trying her best to seem okay.

So the way they went back to making out. But the way that was kissing her, and the electricity between them, Olivia was questioning her own resolve. She was partially thankful to the phone that started ringing, because it caused her to collect herself and gain her breath back.

"I think that's yours." Fitz said, pulling his silent phone out of his pocket.

Only her phone wasn't ringing. Olivia froze, slowly sliding off of his lap and reaching into her purse. She pulled out a flip phone that seemed like it belonged in 2005. She held it in her lap for a second, knowing what the call would be about.

"What." She said in a hesitant voice.

"We have something." Harrison's voice was serious. Olivia leaned forward, preparing herself for the news. Fitz noticed her immediate shift in body language and ran a comforting hand along her back. "Your father is the head of some top secret spy shit that operates outside of the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, and all of those other big agencies. He has power that goes unchecked by any of the three branches of our government. We don't have a name yet, but it is definitely there. We can't connect anything with your mother's death. We think maybe she could have found out about his secret job and tried to go to the press. However, we do have a connection between Jake Ballard and your father."

"They knew each other?" Olivia choked out.

"Eli visited Jake in the Pentagon once in March of 2011."

"That was around the time we met."

"Huck traced Jake's phone to every GPS signal since they met. He found clusters in this old paper company in Maryland. They have an updated website, but they haven't been in business in thirty years."

"What does that mean?"

"We think Jake may have had something to do with this organization."

"He worked for him?"

"That is what it looks like." Harrison said grimly.

Olivia tried to respond, but she couldn't get any words out.

"Liv?" Harrison asked. "Olivia?"

Her phone slipped from her hand, falling to the floor and shutting itself. Fitz watched, unsure of what to do.

"Livvie, what is wrong?" He watched her face closely as she stared blankly at the floor. Her chest heaved up and down at increasing intensity. He looked at her hands which were shaking.

"You don't want to know." She whispered as she buried her head in her hands and took a series of deep breaths.

"Try me." He kissed her shoulder and rubbed her back.

"I can't." She whispered. "I'm sorry, but you should go."

"Olivia-"

"I can't explain it, I just need to be alone with Alex."

Fitz nodded, not understanding what just transpired on the phone. "Goodnight."

He kissed her cheek and made his exit, wondering about what type of demons she was running from.

/

 **THE NEXT EVENING**

"Hello, Olivia."

Olivia froze in her tracks. The voice was a nightmare from her most disturbing memories. The rich baritone was one that used to strike comfort in her, but now there was nothing but terror. He was sitting at her dining room table, balancing Alexandria on his knee.

"Patricia?" Olivia tried to maintain her cool.

"Yes?" Her nanny appeared from around the corner. "I hope you don't mind, your father arrived early from Milwaukee. I told him you would be home any minute."

"I was going to stop by your office, but I knew that by the time I got there, you would be on your way home." He said with sincerity that made her skin crawl.

"Thank you. You can go now." Olivia told her nanny, not taking her eyes off of the man she had missed for so many years.

"Yes Ma'am." The room was thick with awkwardness as Patricia gathered her things and wished them a goodnight.

"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked in a low, dangerous voice once Patricia was safely out of her apartment.

"I figured we were due for a reunion."

Olivia was seeing red, but she kept calm as she walked over to him and carefully plucked Alex from his arms.

"She is beautiful." He commented. "I see some of myself in her."

"She has none of your qualities." Olivia snapped as she backed away. "I want you to go."

"I don't think you _really_ want that."

"Leave."

"I think what you really want is some answers."

Olivia kissed Alex's cheek and hugged her close, but didn't respond.

"You want to know why your mother went down in the Atlantic and why your baby girl's father won't ever see her take her first steps or walk her down the aisle on her wedding day."

"I want to know why you left."

"Ah, I will cover that too. But there is a condition. I will explain all of these perplexing circumstances if you hold up your end of the bargain."

"Which is?"

"Call off your team. Drop this suicide mission into discovering what it is I do."

"I want something of you, as well."

"Oh?"

"Leave me the fuck alone. Leave my daughter alone. I don't want you creeping around the corners. I want you to forget I exist and I never want to see your face again."

"I must say you wound me with your request. It hurts for a father to hear those words come from his daughter's mouth. I'm sure that now that you are a parent, you can understand."

"You are not my father, and you sure as hell have no claim to Alex."

"I am willing to compromise."

"I need you to cooperate, not bend it to your understanding."

"I will stay out of your life." He extended his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes." She said as she didn't make a move to shake his hand. She kept her distance while Alex was in her arms. "Now hold up your end."

"How about I start from the beginning. Now, your team is right about some things. There is a super scary organization that makes things happen that seem like coincidences. Maybe a red light turns green and a fatal car accident happens. Maybe a world leader contracts a rare terminal cancer. Maybe a coup is sparked by some documents being hacked. These are just _hypotheticals_ here. I happen to be the CEO, to say it nicely, of this group. Your mother knew about what I did and was complicit in it. She, however, got a little too brave when her lover mysteriously died. I'm sorry, but your mother loved a man other than me. She overstepped her place in the world, and reached out to a reporter in London. I had to make sure she didn't make that unfortunate decision to meet with him."

"So the two hundred and seventy nine other people on the plane were, what, collateral damage?"

"Martyrs for the sake of airplane safety. No other engine failures have occurred with American Airlines, because of the issues that were exposed with their regulations. But I digress. I had to go underground for the organization's sake, but also for yours. Believe it or not, I was considering you at the time. You were a mark just as much as I was. Plus, I knew that you would make it okay. You are my daughter, after all."

"What about Jake?"

"Oh, Ballard. It is such a shame, with him. He was so bright and obedient at first."

"He was an agent?"

"The finest of them all. I toyed with the idea of retiring one day, and at one point I thought he could be my successor. I even put him in charge of my greatest asset: _you_."

"So Jake was some sick plant in my life so that you could keep tabs on me?"

"I wanted to make sure you were safe. But back to my story. Jake got a little greedy. He was going to sell out to an unnamed competition for the price of immunity and my head on a platter. You can't blame a man for self-defense."

"You could have harmed my child."

"Come on, Olivia. You underestimate my power and attention to detail. You were never in danger. I would never hurt you."

"But you would cause another girl to grow up without a father."

"You turned out okay. And with the decisions that Jake were making, he wouldn't have survived for long anyways. Are you satisfied with my answers?"

Olivia didn't respond. He took it as a yes.

"So if I find out your team is snooping around the CBO or CIA, everybody you know will regret it. Including your new boy toy." He motioned to the extra glass of wine on her table from the night before.

"And you will leave me and my daughter alone. I don't want you watching from a distance. We don't exist anymore."

"You have my word." He rose and walked towards her. He extended his hand to her cheek, but she staggered back out of his reach. "I hope that one day you see that I made these decisions because I love you." He said with a sigh.

Olivia side stepped him to open the door. "And I hope to never see you again."

/

"Drop the case."

"Drop it?"

"I can't say _why_ , I just need you to stop digging."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Tell everybody to go home. Start back in the morning on your old work. This set us back."

"Is that all?"

"Could you find me a new list of nannies?"

"Sure thing." Abbey said, questioning Olivia's odd behavior. She could tell that Olivia's voice was shaking, no matter how hard she was trying to control it.

"And also, get me the paperwork to change Alexandria's name."

"Change it? Why?"

"She won't be carrying the Ballard name anymore."

Abbey waited in silence for more of an explanation, but Olivia hung up. She pocketed her iPhone and turned to the team in the conference room. "She said to drop it and go back to our old work."

"Why?" Harrison leaned forward, placing his chin in the palm of his hand. "We are so close to cracking this. Why would she call it off last minute?"

"She must have her reasons." Huck said in a low voice.

/

Fitz's intention was to surprise Olivia. He could tell, even after she dried her eyes and dismissed him the night before that she was far from okay. He had no idea what she was going through—and with her line of work, he couldn't begin to imagine—but he knew one thing that made everybody happier: food. His arms were weighed down with DC's finest takeout.

When he rang the doorbell, he was not expecting to see Olivia in the state that she was. Her eyes were heavy, and she stumbled a little bit when she opened the door.

"Olivia?"

"Hi." Her eyes were puffy, but she hadn't been crying recently. He could tell that it had been a long evening for her.

"Have you been drinking?"

"Come in." She said like she didn't hear him.

Fitz hesitated for a moment, before following her inside of her apartment.

"Let me fix you something to drink." She motioned for him to sit on the sofa. "You are in luck. I keep a bottle of scotch on tap just in case I ever have scotch drinking company."

"I'm fine, I don't want—"

"I can't be the only one drinking. That would be depressing. Two is a party, or something like that." She sat on the sofa next to him and put the glass in his hand. He noticed the bottle of wine on the table. She was about three and a half glasses deep with one already loaded into the glass.

"Where is Alex?"

"Asleep." She motioned to the hallway that must have led to her room.

"Why are you drinking?" He asked honestly. He knew that she had a love for wine, but she didn't strike him as a casual drunk.

"If I told you, I would have to kill you." Olivia said in a cynical voice. "Actually, I wouldn't be the one killing you. Just know that it wouldn't be beneficial to anybody."

He leaned back into the couch and took a swig of his scotch. The brown liquor burned his throat the entire way down, but it was welcome. When he set his glass down, she refilled it immediately.

"I'm not getting drunk tonight… I don't trust myself around you."

"Yeah, right." She smiled and reached for her wine glass. Her drunken hands tilted the glass too far, spilling red wine down her chin and onto her white cashmere sweater. " _Shit_."

"Here." Fitz moved into action, taking napkins from the bags of takeout and wiping her chin. "That is going to stain."

"It will be okay." Olivia dismissed as she dabbed her sweater. She reached for the hem, pulling the garment over her head. She was left topless in a lacey nude bra. "Let me go throw this in the wash."

Fitz wondered if she knew what she was doing to him. He wondered if she was fully aware—even in her inebriated mind—of how incredibly triggering her body was to him. Watching her walk from the couch to the laundry room in her bra and leggings was enough torture. When she returned, still topless, he thought maybe she was being intentional.

As she walked back to the couch, she noticed his gaze. "Are you thinking about taking back your statement about taking advantage of me?" She sat next to him on the couch, draping her leg over his.

"You make it hard to think about anything."

Olivia smirked as she leaned in to kiss him. He didn't protest as her soft lips molded against his. She was incredibly needy of him at the moment as her hands made work of his buttons. She greedily sucked his tongue into her mouth. Her body felt so good against his. He had to remind himself to go at her pace, but he couldn't help but letting one hand roam down her spine to her ass, pulling her deeper into his lap. She was grinding subconsciously, now, letting soft whimpers escape against his lips.

"I don't want this to be how we do it." Fitz pulled back. He wanted her so intensely, and the way she moved her lips to his neck wasn't helping.

"Why not?" she whispered, kissing along his neck. "I want you so bad. I wanted you last night too, you know. I was just scared."

"You are upset and drunk. I don't want this to be something… you regret."

Olivia let out a bitter laugh, pulling back. "Then there will probably never be a good time. I'm damaged fucking goods."

"Don't say that." He said sternly.

"Orphan who, despite that, somehow has daddy issues in an occupation where I am literally surrounded by damaged, troubled people. And I'm sitting here questioning if anything is even real anymore. I think I check enough boxes."

"Those things don't define you." He countered. He had no idea what anything she was talking about, but he could see the weight on her shoulders and the desolation in her eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked as she slid off of his lap and wrapped an ivory throw blanket around her shoulders. "You have better things to do with your life than babysit—"

"That is not what you are."

"You are normal. You deserve normal."

"I want you."

"You can't handle me." She let out a drunken laugh.

"You haven't given me the opportunity."

"Fitz…" She put her hand on his knee, slurring his name. "I am trying to put this as nicely as possible, but I'm running out of euphemisms. I like you. I am so fucking attracted to you, but I'm a dangerous person who happens to be associated with dangerous people. For you, for us to… I like you too much to drag you into this."

"Just let me help somehow." He pleaded. "Whatever demons are chasing you down, let me take care of them for you. I can't help you if you don't let me."

" _You can't_." She cried. "There are things that you will never know about, because your life goes on without them. I can't put you in that position, because I would never forgive myself if you got hurt."

"So are you breaking up with me right now?"

"Don't put it in those terms." She laughed as a coping mechanism. "We are adults, not sixteen. I'm telling you this is not going to work out."

"Goodbye, Olivia."

"I'm sorry." She nodded with finality.


	4. Chapter 4

**I haven't been doing music for this fic like I have for my other ones, but 6LACK just released his first album and…. It fit so well, so I had to. Check it out.**

Worst Luck—6LACK

So why you wanna love me so bad?  
Why you wanna love me so bad?  
Haven't you heard about my miserable past?  
Critical past?  
Pitiful past?

* * *

 **TWO MONTHS LATER**

Olivia turned the thick cardstock over in her hands. It was an invitation to the President's State Dinner, hosting the Prime Minister of Italy. She was acquaintances with the Prime Minister, after helping his son escape a risqué night at a Las Vegas casino. She was used to attending these types of events, but she was also used to having Jake at her side. Even before she started seeing Jake, she had Edison, the Illinois senator. She wasn't sure if she was ready to be thrust back into the high end of diplomatic socializing.

Then again, who would she bring? Would she be some beacon of feminism going solo? She wasn't ready to have all of the polite smiles and careful phrasings trying not to bring up anything about Jake. She was a tragedy by many standards, whether she wanted to be or not.

The only man she had even spent time with outside of her male clients was Fitz, but she was ashamed of how that ended. Since she let him walk out of her apartment, her situation with her father was completely non-existent. Her team left him alone, and he held up his end of the bargain. It was like before, when she didn't know he existed. Only he did. Now, she just had to self-manufacture some blanket of security that he wasn't lurking in some alleyway making some unexpecting victim go bump in the night. She had to pretend that everything was okay. Even if she had nightmares every now and then.

Yet, Fitz brought some level of comfort and security to her. Having him show up with food at her doorstep and be there with her when she was shaken meant a lot to her.

But then again, it would be an optics misstep. The downside to her job was that anyone she was associated with automatically raised questions about their credibility and relationship. There was automatically assumed scandal within their relationship. Him being her doctor the day after her husband was killed makes it seem like she never loved the man. Well, in retrospect, she should have never loved him. But she couldn't imagine the blowback in rumors she would receive. +

He had probably moved on, anyways. He was an attractive, eligible bachelor. She was certain he found someone else to spend his time with. Probably someone normal and worth his time. So she tucked the invitation into her desk drawer and picked Alex from her bouncer. "Ready to go home?"

She received nothing but a string of spit spilling from her toothless grin.

"I can't wait until you can talk." Olivia replied as she wiped her mouth and walked out into the conference room. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. We are turning in for the night."

"Well, we have incoming." Quinn replied.

"Just kidding." Olivia kissed Alex as she walked back into her office to set her down, before returning to the conference room.

"Turn that off." Olivia reached for the remote turning the TV off. The coverage of the Paris Olympics were playing in the background for the last two weeks.

"Aye, we were just about to win the pole vault." Harrison protested, obeying anyway.

"You can watch the replays." Olivia stole a fry from his plate. "And put your food away, we have company."

"Yes ma'am." He tidied up the conference room before Olivia motioned for their new client to come in.

"Ms. Pope?" a young man, no older than twenty walked in with his hands nervously clasped in front of him. Olivia took in his appearance. He was incredibly fit, wearing a Nike tracksuit, despite the 98 degree weather outside. He was also incredibly attractive, in a college freshman type of way. Very tan with sandy blonde hair tousled.

"Yes, what can I do for you today?"

"Uh, I have a problem."

"Shit… Sorry, Liv. But you are Jason Capiotta. Aren't you supposed to be in Paris? I'm sorry, but I have to shake your hand." Harrison extended his hand in excitement. "And congrats on your gold medal. Beach volleyball is always my favorite sport to watch."

"I bet it is…" Abbey rolled her eyes at his last comment.

"Olivia Pope." She extended her hand. "You came to the right place. Have a seat, tell us how we can help."

"I may have lied to the authorities, and now there is a warrant for my arrest."

"May have?"

"Okay, I did… It was after the competition. I won Gold with Jeff and everything was so surreal. We decided that we earned a little break for some fun and some of the British athletes wanted to show us the city, so we went out. I lost my passport that night, so I told my mom that I was mugged. It was just a small lie, I didn't think much of it. I just needed her to get one expedited to me so I could come home in a week. A couple days passed, and she told a reporter about it by accident. I don't blame her, she is new to this. I am too. But the press got wind of it and made it into a big story. So then we had to go to the police to report it. It was just a snowball event. I got my passport within a couple days. I wanted to come home, because I just needed to get away from it. I just needed a break. So I told my supervisor and got a plane ticket on a commercial flight. But now the police have detained the two British swimmers. I don't know where Jeff is, I haven't been able to get a hold of him. They have a warrant for me and I don't know how to handle it."

"How did you lose your passport?"

"We were… drinking. I had weed in my system. It was stupid, but I don't remember. I just remember getting back to my room and it wasn't in my pocket. But I know I had to have it to get into the last bar."

"Did anyone see you smoke?"

"We did it at this French girl's place. She was seeing Jeff during his time there. She had a couple friends there. I can't remember any names."

"Do you remember where her flat was?"

"Yeah, I could find it on the map."

Olivia turned the TV on and flipped it to the closest 24 hour news station. Sure enough, the bold words ' _WHERE IS CAPIOTTA AND STANTON?_ ' were under a talking anchor.

"Give us a minute." She motioned for her team to join her in her office.

"I'm down." Abbey said immediately. "He's cute."

"If I said that about a woman client, you would be down my throat." Harrison quipped back, earning a punch to his arm. "But for the record, I'm down. This boy is going to be big. He needs us."

"I'm down." Quinn shrugged, and Huck just nodded.

"Something is… off." Olivia said. "He isn't telling us all of the truth."

"So we don't take it?" Harrison said with unveiled disappointment.

"No. Let's take it. I want to know the other side to the story." She walked back into the conference room. "We are going to take your case. But I have one rule. If you break it, I will drop you quicker than you can blink. Don't lie. I need complete honesty. Because if I don't get the truth, someone else will and you will be worse off."

"Got it."

"So is there anything else I need to know?"

"I told you everything."

Olivia leaned back against the table looking at him closely. "No phone calls or contact with the outside world until I say so. Same goes for your family. We will be in contact with them. Where do they live?"

"San Diego."

"Harrison, get on that." She dismissed him. "You need to stay here. You can't be seen out in public, and people can't know you are here, even in this country."

"Okay."

"Huck, track down Jeff Stanton. Find out if he is still in France, and why he hasn't come forward. _Don't_ let him go to the press or turn himself in."

He nodded, leaving as well.

"Quinn, use him to track down the apartment where they smoked. Find out the girls' names and make sure they don't spill to the press."

"My office." Quinn nodded for the client to follow her out of the conference room.

Once they left, Olivia turned to Abbey. "Give me a profile on our client. Find his past drug test results and any hints at a party life in college—anything."

"On it."

"Be back in an hour with something."

/

"Jason Capiotta. Nineteen years old." Abbey pinned her first picture onto the wall. "Born and raised in Encinitas, California on the beach, he started beach volleyball at the age of five. He trained super hard throughout high school. Scored a full ride to USC, amidst offers from every D1 school in the nation. He is the youngest beach volleyball Olympian ever. Quite possibly the cutest. He has trended on twitter multiple times, but not for his athletic ability. Vogue used him for their Olympic issue. Other than that, he has lived a relatively humble life. His parents are both high school teachers. He never went to a party in college but he did pledge to a Christian fraternity. All drug tests have been clean. He refused any sponsors, so he could still be eligible to play for USC. Although he has done a series of speeches out of charity for various religious camps and sessions."

"So he's a good Christian poster child for America. What about Jeff Stanton?"

"The older Olympian was a veteran to the games. He won gold in 2012. He has racked up sponsorship money from Nike, Gatorade, Billabong, and Coppertone Sunscreens. He has no problems with the law in terms of partying, but lived up his college years at Stanford."

"Do we have a bead on him?"

"He's staying with his French girl, Marie Muller. She's a fashion designer. Imagine that. I've contacted him, and he agreed to wait for our direction."

"What about the girls?"

"They have signed non-disclosure agreements. I made them delete all media from that night. If one of them does come forth, they will have a heavy lawsuit to deal with."

"Good."

"Uh, Liv…" Harrison reached for the remote, turning the volume up. "Not good."

They turned to the screen as a grainy cell phone replayed itself on the screen. "This video shows Jason Capiotta in an apparent fist fight with a man who has come forth to the police. He remains anonymous, but according to the police report, he suffered a broken nose and fractured knuckle. The whereabouts of Capiotta and his teammate Jeff Stanton are still unknown. The two British volleyball athletes are in police custody at the moment. They have come forth with honesty about the whole scandal. Because they didn't technically submit the police report, they are not in any legal trouble."

"So he wasn't telling all of the truth." Olivia flipped the TV back to mute. "Bring him in here."

"What is the plan?"

"I'm going to let him know that we don't play."

Huck brought Jason into the conference room. "Woah." He said, looking at the wall with pictures.

"I would ask you to have a seat, but that won't be necessary." Olivia said sternly. "We are dropping you."

"What? Why?"

"You omitted the part about your drunken brawl."

"I… I thought you wouldn't take on the case if you knew."

"If I didn't take people on because of their issues, then I would be out of business. That is literally the point of this firm."

"But…Where will I go?"

"Check the yellow pages." Harrison snickered.

"I can't, I don't know what to do." He pleaded. "I'm sorry, I can tell you everything. Please don't drop me. I don't know where else to go."

Olivia checked her watch. "It's late. I have a daughter to put down, and I don't want her falling asleep in the car. I'll show you the way out."

"Please." He stood, partially blocking her exit. "I will do whatever you say."

Olivia leaned against the table and looked him over for excruciating seconds. "Tell me about the fight."

"I was really drunk, and this dude started to hit on my friend. He was relentless, even though it was obvious she was there with me. When I told him to back off, he realized I was American and started to curse around my country. Things just got out of hand, so when I tried to leave, he followed me out into the street. When he put his hands on me, I just had to do my job and defend my country. I pushed him into an alleyway, and we fought it out. Other than a bruise on my ribcage, I was okay, but I damaged him pretty bad."

"What happened afterwards?"

"I left him in the alleyway. We decided we needed to go home, and that was it."

Olivia nodded, not missing a beat. "You are going to have to come clean with this. We will set up a press conference in San Diego in the morning. You need to make a statement with your family behind you apologizing and admitting to everything."

"But… I can't do that."

"You can and you will. In this order, you will apologize to the French people, the French police, the U.S. Olympic committee, your country, your school, your faith. In that order."

"I thought you were going to make this go away." He accused.

"Maybe if you were honest with me from the start, I could have prevented all of this, but my job is to make sure that you come out of this in the best shape. You are going to be racking up sponsors in a few years, but not if you don't come out looking sorry and serious from this. You will do a sit down for an hour long exclusive. There you will recount your side of the events. You will take _full_ responsibility for your actions."

"What if they take my scholarship away? What if USC takes me off of the team?"

"We will fight for you with their policies, as well as the USOC. We will make sure that this doesn't ruin you, but you have to appear ready to face all consequences." Olivia went to sit next to him, and put a hand on his. "We won't stop until all of this blows over."

"What about Jeff?"

"He isn't our client, but his perception reflects on you. We will reach out and have him come forward to the police. He will probably lose his sponsors, but he also is at the end of his career."

"Will I have to go back to France and be arrested?"

"There is a chance, considering America's extradition treaty with France, but I will work my connections at the State Department for both countries, and get that waived. The only reason France would want to extradite you was if they were hungry for some snit-American victory, but I can convince them otherwise. You will probably have to settle with the victim."

He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Okay, whatever you say, I will do."

"You need to write a blog post directly addressing your Christian community. Release it on twitter after your statement. We will set something up with Diane Sawyer for tomorrow as well. It will air Friday. You will fly back to San Diego immediately."

"Thank you."

"This is what I do."

/

Fitz walked into his house with after a grueling sixteen hour shift. He didn't initially see Karen snuggled on the couch with her _friend_ -but-practically-boyfriend, but he assumed it was that much when he heard a rustling form the living room and turned to find them sitting on opposite ends of the couch.

"Hey, dad."

"Hey, Mr. Grant." The young man said.

"Hey, kids." He said in passing. "What have you done today?"

"Nothing much. I finished my summer reading."

"Did you do your SAT prep?"

"Yep."

"Good." Fitz said, "Hayden, how has your summer been?"

"Great, sir."

"He's interning at the D.A.'s office this summer."

"Nice. That's a fancy summer job."

"It's more of an assistant job. I just file papers and make copies. But I enjoy it." He said.

"It will look good on your college application for sure." Fitz took a seat in his recliner. The news was on in the background. "Do y'all want pizza for dinner? I'm too tired to cook."

"I actually have to eat with my family tonight. Thank you for the offer." Hayden said respectfully.

"I'm good, thanks." Karen said, turning back to the TV. "Did you hear about Jason Capiotta? He got drunk and beat up a man in a club at the Paris Olympics!"

"I haven't been following it."

"He came out and apologized this morning. I set the DVR to record his exclusive interview tomorrow."

Fitz watched the screen with little interest, until he saw who was on it. A very attractive young man was on the screen, giving a statement with his family around him, but in the corner of the screen, Olivia was standing there. She was wearing a white button down and her hair was in a high ponytail. He also recognized one of her team members behind her.

"What happened to him?"

"He went out to celebrate after winning gold, and got too drunk. He ended up in a fight with some random dude. He has come out apologizing and he seems genuine about it. At least he is taking responsibility."

"Yeah, I think he just made a mistake." Hayden piped up. "He is only like 19."

"Interesting." Fitz commented as he rose. "I'm going to take a shower. Good to see you, Hayden."

"Same, sir."

Fitz went into his bedroom, and pulled out his phone. He couldn't help but be amused by Olivia popping up on his TV. He knew that they didn't end on amazing terms, but he couldn't blame her. He would never know what problems circled around her hectic life. He entertained the thought of venturing a text out to her. He thought about her often, wondering how she was doing, or how her baby was growing.

He sent a simple. "Good work on the Capiotta case. I saw you on my TV. I hope you are doing well."

But he didn't expect a reply.

/

"Hey, can I borrow your daughter for my personal means?" Abbey walked into Olivia's office.

Olivia shot her an _are you crazy_ look.

"I need to test David and see if he is really husband material."

"Abbey…"

"Come on. You need a night to yourself. I just want to babysit her overnight."

"I don't even let the nanny keep her overnight yet."

"I babysat all through high school and helped raise my younger sister. I've been changing diapers since I was seven."

"I don't want my daughter being some political move you put on David."

" _Please_." Abbey begged. "When was the last time you got a full night's sleep?"

Olivia didn't respond, because they both knew that it had been too long.

"You can call me at any time to check up."

"Fine." Olivia rubbed her temples with her fingers. "What day do you want her?"

"It doesn't matter." Abbey smiled at her victory. "What about the night of the state dinner? That way you can go and not worry about what time you have to be home by."

"I'm going to sit that one out."

"Nobody sits a _presidential state dinner_ out."

"I do."

"Why? Aside from the fact that this is a presidential state dinner, the place is crawling with potential clients."

Olivia didn't respond, shuffling some papers across her desk. Abbey knew when Olivia drew the line for conversation. There was always an edge to the cliff, but it was her job to push it.

"This is about Jake, isn't it?" Abbey sat down in the chair across from her desk. "You don't want to go, because you won't be going with Jake."

"I've gone to a state dinner without Jake before."

"You don't want to go _alone_."

Olivia sighed, leaning back in her chair. Her silence confirmed Abbey's suspicions.

"I'm your friend, remember. You can talk to me about this stuff."

"I have only been to dinners with a date. I don't know how to go alone. I don't want to be the sad widow that everybody looks at with pity."

"Find someone to take."

"That would make it worse… A widow with a newborn toting around her new boy toy?"

"Or someone who is picking themselves up after a tragedy and carrying on."

"A loose cannon."

"Someone who refuses to be a victim."

"An irresponsible mother."

"A survivor." Abbey pleaded. "Liv, you can't let all of this hold you back. It has been seven months. You deserve to be happy."

"I said you could watch her. Whether or not I go to the state dinner has nothing to do with that."

"Fine. I'll pick her up at 5:00 on Wednesday."

"Don't make me regret this."

"You won't." She grinned victoriously as she left Olivia to herself.

/

Olivia stared at the text he sent her.

"Good work on the Capiotta case. I saw you on my TV. I hope you are doing well."

 _I hope you are doing well_.

She only hoped that this meant he wasn't mad at how she treated him. In all honesty, she was embarrassed by her behavior. She drunkenly threw herself at him, then kicked him out when he tried to help. It seemed like a lifetime ago, though. The stress of her father made her a different, dangerous person, and she was protecting him by pushing him away.

Before her mind could stop herself, she pressed the call button by his name.

"Hello?" He answered immediately.

"Fitz?"

"Olivia, hi." He checked his phone screen to make sure his mind wasn't paying tricks on him. "I'm surprised you called."

"I feel kind of foolish, calling on a favor from you, especially how I treated you, but… Could I ask a favor of you?"

"Yes."

"Would you like to accompany me to an event?"

"Yes." He answered quickly.

"You haven't even heard what it is?"

"Well, what is it?"

"I need a date to the Presidential State Dinner this Wednesday. Do you own a tux?"

"Yes, I own a tux. I wasn't expecting _that_ , but I am still in."

"Be at my apartment by 6:00."

"I look forward to it."

/

"You look… wow." Fitz said as Olivia opened her door. She was wearing black ball gown that cinched at her waist with cream accents. Her hair was straightened and pinned to one side. She had a soft smile resting on her lips.

"Thank you."

He leaned in to kiss her cheek, and she didn't pull back. She smelled like the best perfume.

"My driver is waiting for us." Olivia pulled back, letting herself get lost for a moment in his arms. She smoothed out her dress, as if it wasn't already impeccable.

"Do you usually travel by driver?" He teased.

"Only when I go to events like this." She rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for inviting me to this. I mean it, this is a big deal for me."

"I felt the need to apologize to you for the last time we… For how I treated you. I was going through a lot—"

"You are forgiven." He cut her off.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"Am I actually going to meet the President tonight?"

"And the Italian Prime Minister."

"What if I trip over my words?"

"You will be fine. They are just people."

"People you help to get where they are."

Olivia shrugged. "Just stay by my side."

"I can do that." He winked. He didn't know where she stood in terms of him, but he did know that he was still painfully attracted to her. He would push his luck for the night, and try to open her back up.

/

"I think my palms were sweaty." He whispered in her ear, earning a giggle from her.

"I'm sure he has had worse tonight."

"May I have this dance?" He held his hand out to her.

"You may." Olivia put her hand in his and let him lead her to the dance floor.

It was all he could do to not pull her completely against him. They were in the White House, and she had a reputation to remain. Plus, he could tell by the way she kept her expression neutral and eyes cast across the room that she wasn't trying to make a scene either.

"What am I to you, tonight?" He asked.

"What?" Her eyes connected with his.

"Tonight. Are we friends, lovers, or am I to introduce myself as your doctor when we start mingling?"

"Are you asking for yourself? Or for the people I am going to introduce you to?"

"Both."

"As far as anyone who asks is concerned, you are my old friend. I will say that we go way back. If they press further, we can make up a story, like I lost a bet over a Redskins game, and you are my date because of that. It is best to keep the whole accident out of the story."

"What about the other answer."

"The other answer involves me asking you to kindly heighten the position of your hand on my backside, so that people actually believe my first answer."

Fitz smirked as he twirled her out and back in. "That was a shitty answer."

"Then my answer is that I don't know." She said honestly. "It is hard for me to be back in _this_ type of setting again. I haven't been to a purely social event like this since the accident. I need you as a friend tonight…"

"But you aren't sure about tomorrow."

Olivia shot him a look that told him he was correct.

"I can work with that."

/

After the dinner and performance by Tony Bennett, Olivia called for the car. The party was far from being over, but Olivia hated lingering around. She had already done her dutiful networking and polite conversations, and now she was tired. She wanted to pour a glass of wine and enjoy her night of no motherly duties.

"What is it?" Fitz asked as he noticed Olivia frowning, looking at her phone.

"Abbey hasn't texted me back. It's been thirty minutes."

"I'm sure Alex is safe." He reassured, patting her thigh. "I want to ask you a question, but it may compromise the client/OPA confidentiality."

"I can't make any promises."

"When we greeted the Italian Prime Minister, you two exchanged a few words. What did you talk about?"

"I helped his family out a few years ago. I was asking about them and he invited me to Rome for a visit."

Fitz let out a low whistle. "How many heads of states have you worked for?"

"Are we counting if they ever held office? Or just during the time I helped them."

"Ever."

Olivia pursed her lips in thought for a second. "Eight."

"Eight? How many languages do you speak?"

"English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Mandarin. I can speak and hear basic Arabic, but can't read."

Fitz let out a whistle.

"When I was little, I always wanted to be the smartest person in the room."

"I'd say you accomplished that." He motioned to the car who, besides the driver and them was empty. "And unless the driver is Aristotle."

"But then again, you had to show me how to burp a baby."

"But the only second language I know is two semesters of high school Spanish."

"Different strokes." Olivia shrugged, humbly accepting his praise. Her phone buzzed, and she immediately checked it. "She is fast asleep." Olivia exhaled noticeably.

"I told you she would be fine." He winked.

Olivia realized that earlier he was trying to pull her mind off of Alex. He was starting conversation to ease her worrying. "Are your kids staying with you tonight?"

"No, they are at Mellie's."

"Do you want to come up for a drink?" She asked, watching his face closely. "I, uh, understand why you wouldn't."

"I would love to."

The driver pulled up to her apartment building, and Fitz helped Olivia out of the car.

"Do you like living in the city?" Fitz asked as they took the elevator up.

"It has its perks." She responded. "Having everything in close proximity trumps the quiet suburban life."

"Quiet must bore you." He followed her into her apartment. She pulled a bottle from her cabinet and popped the cork, bringing two glasses to the couch.

"Quiet on nights like this are nice." She commented as she moved some of Alex's stuffed animals from the couch onto the table.

"It's good." Fitz commented as he took a sip of the wine.

"Good?" Olivia challenged.

"What should I say?"

"This is a rare bottle of French Cabernet Sauvignon. _Good_ is insulting. Try harder."

Fitz took another sip, this time taking more time to work through the taste. "It is very warm. Like when you sit in front of a fire in December, but only your skin gets warm and the rest of you remains cold. Only with this, your insides are warm, while your skin remains cold. It tastes like a reversal of that fire. Wood, flame, the blanket around your shoulders, snow outside. Everything."

Olivia pressed her lips to his, licking the wine off of his lips. He kept his glass hand as he responded, kissing her back. Her lips tasted like wine, and he was loving the way the bitterness offset how soft and inviting her lips were. She pulled back, clearing her throat and taking another sip.

"I don't know how to…do this." Olivia admitted with blush rising to her cheeks. "It has been a while since I have dated, and even then, I never really _dated_ a normal guy. I mean, you saw how I failed dismally before."

"Normal?" A quizzical grin crossed his face. He kept a hand on her thigh.

"No offense, but someone outside of my world. You have a normal life that is unaffected by the circus act that is my profession. And on top of that, I have Alex. I can't… I have to put her first, and I've never done this before. I can't let my personal life be something that affects her negatively."

"I would never hurt her."

"I know that. Who would actually say anything different, but what if we don't work out? I can't have her growing up with having interchangeable fill in dads that are never permanent. But how do I expect anyone to take on her with me, and promise me anything substantial on the first date. It just doesn't work that way."

"I can't sit here and tell you that I will be here forever, but that is life. I can only try. I guess tonight was technically our second date, but we have been through a lot together. If I wasn't serious, I would not be here right now."

"Why are you interested?" Olivia asked honestly. "I treated you like shit before, and I have a child who isn't even crawling yet. That isn't exactly sexy."

"I learned to not judge people by their worst. You had some things going on at that point, and I would be stupid to think that was the real you. Plus, I have children too."

"Your kids are going to be independent in two years."

"It is still baggage. I haven't dated anyone without considering them, just like you wouldn't without putting Alex first. I'm not playing around here."

"I have an obnoxious job that drags me out of bed at two in the morning and makes me spend more time in the office than I do at my home. I just… Don't want to put you through that."

He traced his finger along her shoulder and kissed the exposed skin. "We have something. And maybe it came at an inopportune time, and you could always argue that it would be easier under different circumstances, but that is how it always goes. And that doesn't negate the _something_ that is happening between us."

"It will be messy."

"Then bring it on." He tucked his finger under her chin, earning a smile from her. Olivia leaned in, making her move.

He brought his lips to hers, ghosting his breath against her lips. "You never told me what the wine tastes like for you." He whispered.

Her breath hitched as she pulled back to make eye contact. "It tastes like _you_."

Just by placing her hand on his thigh, she gave him the go ahead to pull her closer. She offered her lips to his in a simple but progressing kiss. He finally understood that she was giving him full access to her, and she was giving it a chance. He wrapped a hand around the nape of her neck, gently combing through her hair. Her lips were soft and welcome against his.

"I, uh…" He smiled against her lips. "I don't know how to get you out of this dress." His hands wandered down her sides, trying to find the zipper of her dress.

"The zipper is here." Olivia stood up and guided his hands to her back. He rose, kissing her shoulder blades and slowly unzipped her dress. Olivia stepped out of it, carefully laying the rich taffeta over a chair.

Fitz watched her body move in the corseted lingerie set. She was incredibly gorgeous, and he was practically salivating. He swiftly picked her up by her waist, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Second door on the left." She mumbled as he found her bedroom. He was finding it hard to even walk with the way that she was sucking and kissing on his neck. He laid her on her bed and watched with lustful eyes as she unhooked her corset, tossing it to the floor. She smirked at the way he stared. She rose to her knees, starting on his bowtie.

"You are so beautiful." He whispered against her ear as his hands roamed down her sides. She made quick work of his buttons, sliding his shirt off of his shoulders and unbuckling his pants. When his pants and boxers were at his ankles, he pushed her back onto the bed, settling in between her legs.

Olivia moaned as he began a trail of open mouthed kisses down her torso. She was on a pleasure filled edge already, but as he palmed her breasts, she was sure that she would orgasm soon. It had been too long, since she experienced this type of excitement. He made his way down to the scar stretching across her belly from where they removed Alex from her. He kissed it tenderly from edge to edge. The motion made a tear spring down Olivia's face from the corner of her eye to her hair.

He continued until he had nudged her panties down her legs. His mouth laid deep, languid kisses upon her heat, causing her mind to go blank and pleasure to course up from her belly.

"Fuck." She cursed as his hand went to her stomach, keeping her glued to the bed. She was in torture and heaven at the same time as he skillfully made her come with his tongue. She latched a hand to the curls at the back of his head and the other in a fistful of the sheets, guiding him on. He didn't stop until she was writhing from the waves of pleasure.

He was back on her mouth, swallowing her cries of pleasure with his tongue. She was desperate to feel him as she clawed at his hair and bit his lip. It was like he had reawakened a part of her that she tried to forget about. He entered slowly, eyes locked with hers. They were having a world of conversation with each other just by holding eye contact as she nodded, telling him to move.

The way that he filled her and guided her was incredible. She had not had sex in almost a year, and had not felt sensual in her body either. Yet, when she was in his arms and he was whispering how fucking gorgeous she was, it felt like she had never been without him.

With his hand gripping her hip and his other entangled in her hair, he brought her to an orgasm. The beauty of watching her close her eyes and throw her head back as her walls constricted around him was the single most arousing thing he had ever witnessed.

As his end neared, his strokes became deeper and slower. Olivia urged him to come as she placed open mouth kisses along his neck. With a grunt, he spilled into her, mumbling her name.

He rolled off of her, and Olivia moved to get out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" He wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her in place.

"I am going to get a washcloth to clean us off with." Olivia giggled as she tried to escape his arms.

"No you aren't." He pulled her back to lay down. "I'll get it." He kissed her cheek.

"It is in the linen cabinet by the tub." She smiled as he left the bed. He returned moments later with a warm washcloth.

He crawled back under the covers with Olivia and wiped her down before doing the same with himself.

"That was good." Olivia smiled as she laid on her side, looking at him.

" _Good_ is insulting." He threw her own words back at her. "Try harder."

"Fine." Olivia rolled on top of him, straddling his waist. "That was _life changing._ "

"That is more like it."

A moment of silence fell between them. Fitz looked at Olivia's body on display in front of him.

"I don't want to assume that because we had sex, however _life changing_ , that I have a right to sleep here tonight."

Olivia smiled at his thoughtfulness. "Does it look like I want you to go anywhere?"

He pulled her down to lay next to him with the covers around them like a cocoon.

She kissed his lips softly and ran a finger along his jawline.

"You should get some sleep."

"I'm not tired."

"You will be in the morning."

"But I'm not right now." She protested like a child.

Fitz sighed realizing that there was no way that she would lose this argument.

"Then what do you do on a Thursday morning at 2am when you can't sleep?" He traced his hands across her shoulders.

"I don't know." Olivia propped herself up on her elbow. "I guess when Alex wakes me up in the middle of the night, I watch the news or work on a case… What do you want to do?"

"I want to get to know you." His fingers traced from her shoulders up to her face, outlining her jaw.

"What do you want to know?" She blushed as his pinky traced her lips.

"Everything." Fitz said. "Who are your parents? What was your childhood like?"

"My mother died in a plane crash over the Atlantic when I was eight. I had a father, but he disappeared after my mother's death." She kept that story, because she was still conscious of the consequences of telling him the truth. In fact, her knowing the truth made the story more digestible. "I was put into foster care. I was lucky, having a great host family. Most kids bounce from home to home, but my foster family were good people."

"What was your mother like?"

"She was beautiful. She was a secretary at a law firm, but she was as brilliant as any of the lawyers working there. She was obsessed with Stevie Wonder and historical fiction romance novels."

Fitz soaked this information in, watching her face closely. "Where did you go to college?"

"Columbia. Then Georgetown for my law degree."

"What is your favorite movie?"

"Mr. Smith Goes To Washington."

"Oh, come on. That is so corny."

"It's a classic." She playfully punched his shoulder, but he grabbed her arm, pulling her on top of him. She couldn't help but giggle as she propped her elbows on his chest. "Then what is yours?"

"The Godfather."

"I can't argue with that."

"What was the first concert you ever went to?"

"For my eighth birthday, I saw Janet Jackson. Pretty hard to beat."

"The first concert I ever went to was a grunge band in college. I was drunk enough to think they were as good as Nirvana."

Olivia giggled. "Did you go through the long hair and grunge phase?"

"Yes, and every picture has been destroyed, so don't push it any further." He joked, and Olivia tried to imagine him with long hair in a typical 80s/90s grunge scene. "What made you start your own firm?"

"I wanted to be independent. Working in the White House had its perks, but it was very one sided. We all had one job: make the president appear to be the best version of himself, no matter who gets in the way. I like playing both sides and hearing all perspectives."

"You are a champion of the underdogs."

"Everybody hits rock bottom at some point. Everybody deserves a second chance, as well… Tell me about your kids."

"Gerry is the oldest. He turns nineteen in September. He is so smart, but he is very unsure of himself. We thought he was going to turn down Harvard to go to Virginia Tech for his girlfriend, but I think he was just preparing for rejection. He wants to be a doctor too. He wants to focus on research, though. Karen is the opposite. She's an upcoming junior. She's always wanted to be the center of attention. She wants to be an actress. It makes me worry because it's such a risky career, but she is set on it. And I know if I told her to reconsider, she would just double down. She is as headstrong as her mother."

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

"Yes, but she won't admit it yet. He asked her to prom as a _friend_ , but according to her, things are different with her generation. They are in the ' _talking_ ' phrase right now." He winked.

Olivia yawned, trying to hide the sleep that was creeping up on her. "Do they know about me?"

"Not yet." He kissed her nose "Karen saw you on TV with the volleyball player's case, but that is it."

"How often do they stay with you?"

"According to the custody agreement we signed, every other week we trade off, but during the summer I get them 90% of the time and vice versa during the school year. Now they are old enough to come and go as they please."

"I would like to meet them one day." Olivia couldn't suppress another yawn.

"That can be arranged. But for now, I think I have bored you into sleepiness. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She flipped her lamp off, and settled comfortably in his arms.

/

"Hey, Dad." Karen practically skipped through the door in her swimsuit and cover up.

"It doesn't look like you have been studying for your SAT." Fitz commented as he pulled a bowl of grapes out from the fridge and set them in front of her. She was taking her first SAT test in August, and agreed to adapt a rigorous study schedule over the summer if she didn't have to get a job.

"We studied for like three hours, then jumped in the pool." Karen dismissed. "I also got my class schedule. I need to get out of AP Chemistry, because only two people made an A last semester. I would rather save it for senior year."

Fitz nodded, accepting her thought train. "Are you eating dinner with us?"

"Yeah." She pulled her phone out, flipping through it. "Since when were you going to tell me that you met the president?"

Fitz began to prepare the chicken for their dinner. "How did you find out?"

She flashed her phone in his face with a picture of him and Olivia greeted by the President and Prime Minister of Italy. "Are you living a second life?"

"It was last minute. I barely had time to dust off of my tux."

"So this Olivia Pope just booty called you into a state dinner?"

"I don't want to ever hear you say _booty call_ again." He grimaced.

"When were you going to tell us?"

"That I went to a state dinner?" Fitz had his back turned to her as he was washing some greens in the sink.

"No, that you were seeing someone."

"It's a sensitive situation."

"Dad, you have been divorced for six years. You don't have to hide your girlfriends from us."

"It isn't that." He turned around and sighed. He forgot sometimes how mature Karen was in reading him. "It is a sensitive situation. Olivia has a young baby."

"I know. I looked her up. I'm sorry about what happened with her husband."

"Yeah. That is why it is so sensitive. She has a complicated job, with an even more complicated life. The reason why I didn't tell you yet isn't because I don't trust you, but because there are a lot of other factors at play."

"How did you two meet? I'm still not over this state dinner thing."

"She was a patient of mine. Then I ended up needing her help for something at work, and it went from there. She called me last minute, saying that she needed a date. I was free."

Karen was silent for a moment, rolling a grape between her fingertips. "I want to meet her. Did you know she handled the press for Jason Capiotta? Imagine all of the connections she has."

"Karen… Her client are confidential, she can't give you their phone numbers. You will meet her when the time is right."

/

"I want to lay some ground rules down." Olivia said as she slowed her gait to a power walk. They were going for a run along the mall, with Alex in a stroller.

"Oh, boy." Fitz joked.

"Hey, I warned you from the start that I would be trouble."

"Touché. Go on."

"I just want to let you know that there is a chance that being associated with me will bring you to the public's knowledge. There is a chance that right now, someone is photographing us or filming us. If I have a particularly big case that becomes public, you can't talk to any reporters. Even the seemingly friendly people waiting in line at the grocery store, who chat you up about the tabloids. You can't say anything."

Fitz nodded as they stopped along a shady spot. He took the blanket stored under the stroller and spread it out on the ground.

Olivia pulled Alex out of the stroller and set her on the blanket, also grabbing two water bottles. "You are welcome to visit me at my office, but I need a heads up. I can't have clients feeling unsafe about non-personnel coming through the doors."

"Okay." Fitz pulled Alex into his lap and began playing with her toys with her. "Anything else?"

Olivia momentarily lost her train of thought, when Fitz started playing with Alex.

"Liv?"

"Sorry, I just…" She took a sip of her water, blushing. "That is all."

"Karen asked about you the other day."

"She did? What did she say?"

"She was wondering how I met the President and who my beautiful date was." He smiled, tugging on one of Alex's toes. "One of her friends showed her a picture of us at the dinner."

"What did you say?"

"I told her about you, and she was hurt that I didn't tell her sooner, but I explained that it was a difficult situation. I told her you two would be introduced when it was right."

"Was she happy or mad?"

"She was excited. I think she worries about me being alone, when Mellie has Andrew. I thought she would be weirded out by the thought of me dating women at my age, but she's been supportive."

"What about Gerry?"

"I haven't told him yet, but I've also barely seen him this past week. His girlfriend did summer classes at Virginia Tech, so he's spent the past week with friends there."

"Does it worry you that he could marry her? I mean, after how you and Mellie worked out." Olivia rolled onto her side and pulled Alex's attention towards her. She was beginning to figure out crawling, but hadn't quite mastered it long term. Instead, she took a couple of steps, before falling back on her ankles.

"He is a lot like I was during that age. He loves her, I have no doubt. But he was 12 when we divorced, and we talked him through it making sure he understood why we didn't work out. So I think he has a better perspective."

"I would like to meet them one day." Olivia affirmed. Despite their situation that would normally require a more serious approach, they were taking things slow and easy. Runs in the park, dinners at a normal time, and things that brought a little normalcy to their lives.

"I would like for that to happen, too." Fitz smiled, tracing a finger along her wrist. "Does the fact that we may or may not be filmed and/or photographed right now mean that I can't kiss you?"

"I'm sweaty." She scrunched her nose. "So continue at your own risk."

"I'll take my chances." He leaned in, tilting her chin up with his hand and gently kissing her bottom lip. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, so she pulled it out of her running shorts.

"What?" Olivia said into the receiver. "They are scared of the backlash it will bring onto the network… No, I'll take care of it. Work on the press release, but email it to me before you show it to Mark… Okay." Olivia hung up. "I'm sorry, I just have to make a quick phone call."

"I think I'm a little too out of shape to start running again, so don't worry." Fitz laid down on his back and put Alex on his chest, jingling his car keys in front of her.

"Julio! Hi, long time no talk." Olivia said into her phone call with sincerity. "How is your baby? Oh Alex is the same way. I'm worried I'm going to blink and she will be eighteen. We should get them together sometime. That would be great for developing their social skills… Now, I am sure you know why I am calling, and it is not to compare baby notes. I'm sorry about Harrison, he can be a little harsh…"

Fitz listened to her side of the conversation with amusement. He knew her well enough that the niceties she was spouting were about to be turned on a pin.

"…Oh, you are preaching to the choir! I understand your standard of ethics that you must hold yourself to as a journalist. I would _never_ ask you to compromise that. That is not what I'm calling about…"

Alex started to fuss, so she pulled her off of Fitz's lap and into hers. She held her phone against her shoulder and ear and rubbed Alex's tummy, soothing her. Fitz watched in amazement as she balanced the baby on her lap and began to decimate the person on the other line.

"…I just thought that since I value our professional relationship, I should give you a heads up about a little article coming out in… wait. I actually can't remember if it was the Times or the Journal, but that's beside the point. The article is about a successful Latino reporter who refuses to help elevate the voices of his people, because he is worried about the backlash it will create politically. A real poignant commentary on the intersection of ethnicity and power as well. Now _that_ would be some actual backlash. I would hate for something like that to be published, because _I know_ it is the furthest thing from the truth. I'll let you go, I didn't want to distract you from your work. Okay, bye. Keep in touch."

She redialed Harrison's number with a smirk, "It's handled, but just in case, find me the most left-leaning Latino reporter for the Times. Keep him on file." Olivia pocketed her phone and turned back to Alex, who was now getting worked up again. "Oh, baby, what is wrong?"

Fitz was still amazed by the juggling act she just mastered. "Do you remember when you were in the hospital and you were trying to comprehend how you were going to raise a baby after so much was taken from you?"

Olivia nodded, finally getting Alex to calm down in her arms. She snuck a pacifier into her mouth and nestled her against her arm.

"You are such an amazing mother." He said so simply and matter-of-factly, that Olivia's eyes watered. She leaned forward and kissed him chastely on the lips.

"A long way from changing my first diaper."


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is Chapter 5. A foot injury and winter break beginning has given me a lot of time to write, so expect chapter 6 and 7 soon. I hope you enjoy this, and always—thanks for the reviews.**

* * *

Olivia sat with Alex in her lap. She was struggling to comb her curls into the tiny barrettes she had in her palm. Alex was much more concerned with trying out the new skill of crawling she learned.

"I just think it is ridiculous…" Olivia succeeded in fastening a clip onto the head. "That babies are required to look cute."

"How so?" Fitz chuckled as he rounded the corner. He kissed her on the cheek on his way past.

"Why can't she just enjoy her infancy without having these ridiculous bows in her hair? She doesn't want to wear them. I don't particularly enjoy putting them in her hair."

"I think that she is pretty cute either way." Fitz sat down next to her and kissed her shoulder as she finished. Olivia let Alex escape her lap as she crawled towards a toy sitting on the floor. "Quit worrying."

"I'm not." Olivia said, but Fitz raised an eyebrow. He rested his chin on her shoulder, making her smile. "I'm not." She repeated, shrugging him off of her shoulder. Olivia began to get up. They had to leave in fifteen minutes and she still had to get dressed.

"Wait." Fitz wrapped his arm around her hip, pulling her back. "Don't get ready yet."

"We need to leave soon."

"True, but I haven't had a minute to you in almost a week."

Olivia shot him a disapproving look, but made no resistance as she settled on his lap. "One minute." She said sternly.

"I'll take what I can get."

Olivia gave in to his hands firmly on her waist as he sought out her lips. Fitz could feel by how she was kissing him, that she was busy and sprinting on a tight rope between her job and Alex and him as well. Tonight, she would finally meet his kids. She wanted to take things slow, in the beginning, but now she felt ready to meet everybody. Karen was performing in the opening night of her summer play, and Jerry was heading off to college in a couple of weeks. There was no better time than that night.

"What about when Alex starts crying during the play?"

"We'll sit by the aisle." Fitz vacated his lips from hers and began to kiss down her neck. "You aren't worrying remember?"

"Right." Olivia sighed as she pulled back. "Minute is up. I am going to go get dressed."

"Can I help?" He teased as he reached for the hem of her shirt.

"You can watch Alex." She laughed as she kissed him again. "While I go change."

/

One hour later, they were seated in crowded theater. Olivia met Jerry, and he seemed polite enough. She couldn't tell if he was shy or plain uninterested, but he wasn't rude. They sat as Jerry's girlfriend Anna, Jerry, Fitz, Olivia, and Alex sleeping quietly in her arms. She was so eternally grateful that Alex was asleep for the majority of the play. Except when she woke to a scream at the end. Olivia quickly removed themselves from the theater, walking Alex outside.

"Shhh, shhh." Olivia cooed as she bounced her in her arms. "Come on, Alex, pull yourself together." Her phone rang, making her mumble a few words she wouldn't want Alex to remember.

"I have a crying baby in my arms, so you have fifteen seconds." Olivia said into the receiver.

"We have incoming." Harrison said.

"Do I need to be there?" Olivia asked. "Because odds are, I won't tonight."

Harrison gave her a quick brief of their client.

"Set up a meeting with her tomorrow morning at nine. No, make it ten. Thanks, bye." She turned around to go back into the theater, to find the curtain call finishing up. She found her place next to Fitz as the standing ovation ensued.

"Sorry." She whispered.

"Don't be." He rested his hand on the small of her back, momentarily, giving her comfort. The curtain fell and the audience began to file out, so they waited for Karen. Olivia immediately spotted her immediately. She was taller than what she expected, but she looked just like the pictures Fitz shared with her.

"Dad!" she called out, weaving her way towards them.

"Great job, as usual." He kissed her forehead. "I want you to meet—"

"Olivia Pope." Karen said excitedly. "I am very happy to meet you, so I'm going to hug you now."

"Oh, okay." Olivia laughed as she was pulled into a hug. "I am very happy to meet you as well."

"And is this Alexandria?" She gasped as she crouched down to her stroller. "Wow, she is so cute."

"Thank you." Olivia found Karen's bubbly personality so endearing.

"I know that we are going out to eat tonight, but can I go hang out with Hayden afterwards?"

"That's really late, it's almost nine as it is."

"I know, but it is still summer." Fitz said sternly.

"Come on, I'll be home by midnight."

"Why don't you invite Hayden to come out with us tonight? That way you can spend some time with him _and_ you won't be driving late."

"I can work with that." Karen conceded. "I need to go take my makeup off and grab my bag. We can meet you at the restaurant."

"We will save you a seat."

"Thanks." She ran off back behind the stage again.

"Okay, so let's go ahead and hit the road.

/

"So you, like, handle celebrity problems, right?" Karen asked Olivia.

"Karen." Fitz reprimanded.

"What?" She asked.

"No, it's true. When people find themselves in a bad situation, I help them out."

"What's the craziest crisis you have had to manage?" Karen leaned in, like she was about to receive the best gossip.

"I can't tell you _specifics_ ," Olivia indulged, enjoying Karen's hyper-interest, "but I once _."

"No way, who was it?"

"I can't tell you that." Olivia smirked.

"Doctor-patient confidentiality." Fitz piped in, rolling his eyes in jest.

They enjoyed their dinner over lively conversation. Olivia honestly enjoyed being invited into their family. It was an odd slice of normal. For the evening, she forgot about the mountain of stress waiting for her at the office. For then, she was a regular person enjoying her regular life with her boyfriend and family. She enjoyed being around Fitz in his father mode. He obviously did something right, because his kids were mature and incredibly intelligent.

As they left the restaurant, everybody split off. Olivia fastened Alex into her car seat before climbing into the front seat.

"That was fun." She said honestly. "You have great kids."

"I tried." He joked as he kissed her knuckles.

"I was expecting some reluctance from them. I mean, who is okay with their dad dating a woman with a newborn?" Olivia wondered out loud.

"I think that they have matured more because of their mother's relationship. It took them a long time to warm up to Andrew, especially because they perceived him as the reason for our split. But they have adjusted to him, and I think they just want me to be happy."

"Is Jerry usually that quiet?"

"Yeah, mostly. It isn't that he doesn't like you, he just is uninterested in the whole situation. He wants me to be happy, but his mind is always elsewhere."

They drove in mostly silence until he pulled into her apartment building.

"Thank you." Olivia said as walked her to her door.

"For what?"

"Inviting me into your family." Olivia set Alex—who had been sleeping for the entire drive—and her carrier on the ground. Fitz put his hands on her hips, guiding her against him.

"You are a part of my family, Livvie."

Olivia ran a hand up his arm, getting lost in his eyes.

"I love you." He said softly.

Olivia's mouth fell open a little bit as she silently watched his face. She didn't have words.

"You don't have to say anything back." He softly palmed her cheek with his hand.

Olivia wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him, laying her head against his chest. "Thank you." She repeated.

/

One week later, Fitz was moving Jerry into his dorm at Harvard, and he couldn't be prouder. He drove the eight hours with Jerry and his stuff while Karen and Mellie flew. He was enjoying his last day with his son before he was officially gone. They talked about things they never approached before—growing up, his intent and also ambivalence to marry his girlfriend one day, college parties. He oddly felt at peace with his son going to college. He wasn't worried about his safety or survival. He saw how independent he was, which was partially Fitz's fault. He wasn't there as much in his adolescence due to work and co-parenting. Because of that, Jerry was very mature and independent.

When they arrived in Boston, Fitz picked up Mellie and Karen from the airport. When they got to campus, they joined the hoard of college freshmen moving in and setting up their space. Everybody worked as a team, getting Jerry's belongings in order for his miniscule living area.

Fitz could tell by the way Mellie was looking at him the entire day that she was not happy about something.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Mellie asked, as they brought the final box in.

Fitz nodded, following her out to the car. "You look mad." Fitz stated flatly.

"Correct." Mellie said. "Was there something you neglected to tell me?"

"I don't think so." Fitz raised his eyebrows in confusion

"Did you think I would appreciate being told about your _girlfriend_ through our daughter?"

"I told you I was seeing someone."

"Yeah, two months ago."

"I am failing to connect the subject of this argument to why you are so mad right now."

"You didn't tell me that you had a girlfriend with a baby that you were taking around our kids."

"Well, you didn't tell me about Andrew for an entire year." He said sarcastically. "And that was back when it _was_ my business to know."

" _Fitz_ "

"I am allowed to move on."

"I know that."

"And I am allowed to introduce who I want to my kids when I want, and as long as they are not put in any danger. Just like I'm allowed to introduce whoever I want to you whenever I want."

"I just wish you gave me a heads up." Mellie let her façade of indignation slip. "I didn't even know her name. I came back from my business trip and all Karen could talk about was _Olivia_ this and _Olivia_ that."

"Her name is Olivia. She is a single mother. We are serious. There." Fitz checked the car for anything they might have missed, "Now, quit being so melodramatic."

Mellie rolled her eyes as she walked back up to Jerry's dorm room.

"Hey, wait a minute, Mel." He shut the door to the car and jogged after her. "I didn't mean to be rude back there, but you don't need to act entitled to my personal life. I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads up. When I say that Olivia and I are serious, I mean we are serious."

"Do I get to meet her?"

"When I decide it is time." Fitz said as he turned back to Jerry's dorm room.

/

"It's unlocked." Olivia called out, knowing exactly who was knocking. She turned from the glass of wine she was pouring to see Fitz enter her apartment. After locking the door behind him, he swiftly crossed her apartment to her.

"Hi."

Fitz pinned her to the couch, kissing her softly. "Hi."

"How was it?" Olivia asked, running her fingers through his hair.

"Weird." Fitz kissed the corner of her mouth. "It didn't hit me until I was driving home, but he's fully grown now. I feel like I've lost some kind of claim to him."

"You are such an old man." Olivia laughed, lightening his mood. She playfully exaggerated any wrinkles that formed around his eyes.

"Just you wait." He launched an assault on her neck, kissing her until she squirmed. "One day, Alex is going to be knocking on Georgetown's door and you will be _weeping_."

"Probably." Olivia agreed. "But that's eighteen years away. So for now, I'm just going to make fun of you."

Fitz flipped her so that she was straddling him. He immediately disposed of her top, leaving her in a bra. Olivia leaned forward, letting him unclasp her bra.

"I've missed you these past couple of weeks." She whispered. They hadn't had an opportunity to be intimate in a while between their kids and work. Mostly, they only saw each other for a dinner out or family events.

"I can tell." He chuckled as he sat up. He was hungry for her lips on his as they greedily tugged at each other. He palmed her breast, kissing lightly around her nipple.

"Shit." Olivia sputtered as her head fell back. She was grinding relentlessly into his crotch and she wondered how they went so long without each other. Fitz rose from the couch with her legs around his waist and carried her to her bedroom.

Olivia sucked on his neck, careful not to leave marks, as he laid her down on the bed. She grabbed his shirt, pulling him on top of her and using their momentum to flip so she was straddling him.

"I like this Harvard shirt." She growled as she pulled the t shirt over his head. Her weight pressed against his crotch made his dick twitch against her thigh. She smirked at him as she slid down his body, her hand aggressively stroking him through his pants.

"Shit, Livvie, slow down." He laughed as she undid his pants.

She smirked as she had his thick and hard cock in her hands. She started with a tortuously long lick from the bottom of his shaft, to the tip. He automatically reacted, his abs tightening as he released a heavy sigh of pleasure. Olivia wrapped her hand around the base of his cock as she swirled the tip between her lips. She was empowered by how completely at her mercy he was. Just one pop of her lips, and his eyes were shut and his mouth open. He watched the woman of his dreams move methodically up and down on him and it was beautiful.

She brought on his orgasm with appreciative humming. He watched in amazement as she swallowed and left to go rinse her mouth in the bathroom. She returned to find him waiting for her with the sexiest look on his face.

When she approached him, he spun her around and pinned her to her bed. She had taken her leggings off, and was just in a thong. He used one hand to pin her wrists above her head, and the other to slide down her body to her pussy. He watched her face closely as her brow crinkled. His hand was cupping her sex and causing moans. She desperately craned her neck to kiss him, and he complied, taking her bottom lip between his teeth.

He began to pump two fingers into her, causing her to gasp against his breath. From the other room, Alex's screams became heard, as she woke up.

"Shit, Fitz hold on." Olivia pushed him off of her as she quieted and listened to Alex's crying. "She's hungry." She moaned as she rolled from under the covers. Fitz sighed, watching her grab a robe from the bathroom and go to Alex's nursery.

Olivia wasn't in the mood to breast feed, so she grabbed a pre-pumped bottle from the fridge. It was a matter of minutes, before Alex's screams subsided. She rocked her back and forth, humming softly. Olivia opened a side of her robe, and laid Alex against her chest, hoping to calm her down.

"Can you chill and try to let me have a social life?" Olivia hummed as she scratched Alex's back. Alex finally yawned and stretched against Olivia's skin. "Alright, back to your crib." Olivia went to set her down, but Alex spit up all over her chest. "Fuck."

Olivia quickly set her down and walked back to her bathroom. Fitz was waiting for her in the bed, with the covers bunched at his waist. He laughed at the beeline she made for the bathroom, when he saw her chest.

"Shut up." Olivia groaned as she started a shower. Fitz waited a couple of moments before following her. She was already in the shower with her hair pulled up into a high bun, scrubbing her chest with a loofah. Fitz slipped in the shower behind her, slipping his hands around to take the loofah from her. "I'm not in the mood." Olivia said half-heartedly, wriggling out of his grasp and taking the loofah back.

"Hey, come here." Fitz pulled her back hugging from behind. He kissed her temple until she relaxed in his arms.

"I'm sorry." Olivia sighed, not moving from his embrace. "Alex can be such a cock block."

Fitz took the loofah back. "Is the night ruined, though?"

Olivia laughed, letting him lather from her chest to her shoulder. "I just had my daughter's spit up dripping down my breast. That is not exactly sexy."

"I think that you in this shower is incredibly sexy." He backed her up against the wall and kissed her deeply. Fitz made kissed down to her stomach, making the butterflies sputter within her. "And we didn't finish earlier."

"Fitz…" Olivia moaned as he hooked her leg over his shoulder and began to place kisses around her thigh. She tried to find something to brace herself against, but there was only the wet tile. She fastened a hand in his hair and leaned her head back against the tile.

Fitz was doing the most, as he alternated long strokes of his tongue with short pecks along her clit. He worked on her until he could feel the orgasm creeping up to her belly. Her breath became erratic, but he pulled back, standing up to her height. Before she had a chance to protest, he hiked her leg up and slowly inserted inter her.

"Fitzgerald." She gasped, bowing her head towards him as her bod neared closer and closer. The cool tile behind her and the warmth of his body were the perfect contradiction. She couldn't stop the wave of pleasure as his hips rocked back and forth to achieve their goal. Still conscious of Alex lightly sleeping in the other room, she buried her head into his shoulder to muffle her screams. Fitz finished inside of her, pulling out, and setting her flat footed on the ground.

"Fuck, I don't think I can walk." Olivia laughed as she steadied herself against him. He washed her off again, then himself before getting her a towel. The dried off in comfortable quiet and changed into their pajamas.

She made sure that the baby monitor was on for Alex's nursery, then immediately succumbed to the warmth and comfort of his arms. Olivia had no problem falling asleep. Her body was exhausted, and she could tell he was exhausted after his trip.

 _But then she wasn't in his arms. She was in a car. Olivia adjusted to her surroundings. She was in a car coming home from dinner. She tapped her fingers along her seatbelt, thinking about how nice it would feel to take off her dress that night. The fabric around her belly was irritating her baby bump. Even maternity dresses were uncomfortable for her now. But she still had three more weeks to go, before their little boy would meet the world._

" _You must be ready for bed." Jake said, reaching across the console for her hand._

" _You have no idea." She laughed. "Thank you for tonight. I needed a quiet evening out."_

" _I think we both need—"_

 _Then a bright light came from his side. A headlight. Glass shattered and she saw his head hit the steering wheel. She called out, but a sharp pain hit her feet and she was jolted against the seatbelt. There seemed to be too much light everywhere. Everything was spinning and her center of gravity was shattered. A sharp pain came out of her forehead as she realized blood was dripping down into her eyes. She struggled for a moment as she started to lose consciousness. She tried to move her head to look at Jake, but she was in so much pain. Her eyes focused on a figure casually approaching their wrecked car from the street. Everything was spinning except for him. Why was he walking so slow? They needed help. Why wasn't he running? He was in a suit. He was her father. She strained her eyes to look, because the pain was too much to move her head. Her father went to Jake's side of the car and whispered something in her ear._

 _Then she lost consciousness._

"Olivia, stop." Fitz was holding her arms firmly in his hands. She was a sweaty mess, fighting him in her sleep. "Olivia, it is okay."

Olivia relaxed, heaving from her nightmare. Fitz released her arms, and she slumped forward.

"Hey, it's okay. It was just a dream." He rubbed her thigh and pulled her in to hug.

"I'm sorry, I just need a minute." She pushed him back and went into the bathroom to be alone. Once she was in there, she saw how awful she looked. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were still wild from the dream. It had been a while since she had a nightmare, so she assumed they had passed. She couldn't stop the tears from falling as she slumped to the tile floor and cried out all of her fears. She tried to be quiet, but she knew that Fitz knew she was sobbing in there. She silently thanked him for giving her space. Eventually, she composed herself and calmed her heart rate down before returning to the bedroom. Fitz was sitting up with the bedside lamp turned on.

"Are you okay?" He pulled the covers back for her to climb in.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." Olivia crawled into the bed.

"How often does that happen?" He kissed her forehead, pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"It has been a month since the last one. I thought they stopped."

"You were screaming Jake's name. Was your dream about him?"

Olivia nodded. She crawled under her sheets and turned on her side away from him.

"Olivia…" Fitz started out cautiously. "If you don't feel comfortable talking about it, I understand, but you can talk to me about him."

Olivia rolled over, her eyes searched his for a second before she spoke. "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know. I just want you to know that it is okay to talk to me. I sometimes forget that you tragically lost your spouse, and I—I don't know how I would even begin to cope with that."

Olivia rested her head on her hand and was quiet as she collected herself. "Jake was not a good man. I didn't know that, until after he died. The entire time I was dating and married to him, he was like a best friend to me. He understood why I…am the way I am. But after he died, I came across some information. I can't really talk about it, but I found out that he…"

Olivia trailed off, trying to find out how to word it. She was still conscious of her promise to her father to not tell anyone about his operation. Fitz squeezed her arm, encouraging her to take her time.

"I found our… _marriage_ … was never founded on love… He never loved me, it was…"

"I'm so sorry." Fitz whispered. "I had no idea."

"It isn't that bad anymore. I guess I'm the queen of compartmentalizing. All I could do was change Alex's name and focus on not letting it affect how I live now, but I guess I can't escape it sometimes."

Fitz was silent for a moment, processing everything she said and putting it into the context of everything he knew about her. "I don't know what to say, because I'm honestly speechless as to how someone like you can go through so much and still be the amazing woman you are. I want to help you, but I don't know how." He pulled her into his chest, squeezing her tight in an embrace.

"Is it bad that I'm happy someone is dead?" She asked against his chest, as tears sprung to her eyes. "Does that make me an awful person?" Soft sobs threatened to rise from her chest.

"You are allowed to feel however you want." Fitz whispered, kissing her hair.

"It's okay. I'm okay. I'm sorry." Olivia pulled back and wiped her tears. "We should get some sleep."

Fitz reached to flip the light switch off, and right as they settled down to sleep, Alex's cries rang out through the baby monitor.

"Oh my fucking god." Olivia moaned as she rolled out of bed. "I'll be back."

Fitz watched her get out of bed to go tend to her daughter. He watched her through the monitor as she rocked her back and forth until she quieted. He thought about what she shared with him. He was learning more and more how deep her problems were and how incredibly strong she was. There was a reason why she was secretive and distant at times.

Eventually, she put Alex back down and joined him in bed. She nuzzled her face into his neck and entangled her legs in his as they drifted off to sleep together.

/

The next morning, Fitz woke up to the smell of coffee being brewed. He opened his eyes, incredibly groggy from their late night, to find Olivia bringing two cups of coffee into her bedroom. She was freshly showered, wearing her work clothes. He heard a babbling coming from his left, so he turned to see Alex in her play pen, gleefully clasping a stuffed giraffe in her hands.

"Wow, I really overslept." He slowly sat up, accepting the coffee from her hands.

"It is still early, but you got beat by a nine month old." Olivia teased as she handed him his coffee mug. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Fitz took a sip and glanced at the alarm clock. It was seven thirty. He had no idea how she managed to be so awake after such a late night.

"I wanted to wake you before I head out. I'm taking Alex to work with me, but feel free to stay in bed or use my shower." She grabbed her watch from the nightstand and put it on her wrist. "We are about to head out."

"Can I kiss you before you go?" Fitz grabbed her wrist, pulling her onto his lap.

"Do I have a choice?" Olivia giggled as her lips closed around his.

Fitz kissed her softly, his hands possessively resting on her ass. He pulled back, looking at her eyes. He could see vague remnants of her stressful night, but he knew it would go unnoticed by everybody else.

"I love you." He said without much thought, kissing her again, before releasing her. Olivia hesitated for a minute before rising and picking up Alex from her play pen. "Have fun at work tonight."

"Bye, Livvie."

/

 **ONE MONTH LATER**

Olivia leaned back in her chair, letting Alex finish breast feeding. She had a sonata by Mozart playing off of her speakers. She tried to surround Alex by soft, classical music whenever she could, but it turned into her sleeping crutch. She didn't mind on quiet nights like this. The team—minus Huck—was in Seattle, handling a case, while Olivia caught up on paper work with the news on mute. Huck insisted on getting her something to eat, leaving just a minute ago.

She was awaiting a phone call from her team to let her know how it was going, but other than that, the office was dead. The lights were turned off except for her office, and it was strangely quiet. She enjoyed the peace for once.

Alex finished and yawned, letting her know that she was finished feeding. Olivia wiped her mouth, re adjusted her mouth, and burped her over her shoulder.

"You must be Olivia Pope."

Olivia swiveled in her chair to find Mellie Grant standing behind her. She recognized her from pictures, but pictures didn't do her justice. She was beautiful, in a very well-manicured way. She looked like she belonged in a Norman Rockwell painting of the perfect wife. "I am. How did you get in here?"

"I caught the door as one of your employees was walking out. I didn't mean to startle you" She said somewhat sheepishly. "I'm sure you know who I am."

"I do." Olivia rose with Alex still in her arms. She extended her hand tentatively. "What can I do for you?"

"I want to talk. We haven't formally met, and I would like for us to at least know each other."

Olivia stood there, debating in her mind. This was so out of the blue, she wasn't even sure if he would be mad at her for not telling him. It wasn't like him and Mellie were actively fighting each other. They just weren't each other's favorite person in the world.

"Have a seat." Olivia motioned for her to sit on the couch in her office. She took a seat in a nearby chair, keeping Alex in her lap. She gave Mellie a look, telling her to begin the conversation.

"Fitz told me that he was serious about you, so I assume that you are going to be spending a lot of time around our family. Well, Jerry is gone to college, but Karen is still here. I know that I have no right to pry into you and Fitz's relationship, but I would like to know if you are—as serious as he is. For my children's sake."

Olivia felt incredibly awkward. She understood where Mellie was coming from, but the fact that she came into her office, asking her for details about her relationship made her uncomfortable.

"Does Fitz know that you are here?"

"No… And he would probably kill me. But I felt like it was my duty as a mother."

Olivia looked down at Alex in thought. She was pulling one of Olivia's long necklaces down and tangling the chain in her fingers.

"I am a mother as well." Olivia carefully detangled the necklace from her pudgy fingers.

"What is her name?"

"Alexandria. But we call her Alex."

"I remember what it was like when Jerry was that age. I was so worried the entire time that I was doing something wrong that would somehow affect him." Mellie said more to herself.

Olivia felt incredibly self-conscious of Mellie being there. She nodded in acknowledgement of her words. Huck knocked on the door, peeking his head in.

"Dinner is in the conference room."

"Thank you." Olivia nodded.

"Well," Mellie rose. "I should be going. You have a lovely office and a beautiful daughter. I'm sure I will be seeing you around."

"Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you." Olivia extended her hand again, walking Mellie out of the office.

She ate dinner with Huck, then went home to her empty apartment. Fitz was getting off of a 16 hour shift, so she knew he was going straight home to sleep. The perks about his job was that he got a majority of the week off, but the downside was that when he did work, it was an exhausting experience.

She put Alex down and took a shower. She settled into her silky pajamas with a glass of wine and flipped on the news, watching their latest case be replayed on the nightly news. Her phone rang and she immediately answered.

"What?"

"Hi," It was Fitz. She could tell from that one syllable that he was tired. Sometimes he liked to call her on his drive home to keep himself awake.

"How was work?" Olivia turned the volume of the TV down. They were taking a break for the local news segment, and she had little interest in the car chases happening.

"Are you home right now?"

"Yeah, I just settled in. Why?"

"Can I come over?"

"Sure." Something more than being tired was bothering him. Olivia wondered if he knew about Mellie's visit. She was going to tell him whenever she saw him.

"I'll be there in ten." He hung up, already on his way.

It wasn't long before Olivia was opening the door for him. He looked exhausted, with circles forming around his eyes. Olivia immediately kissed him on the mouth, pulling him into her apartment.

"Rough day?"

"Mmhmm." He kissed her again, this time pushing her against him and being needier.

"Easy, there." Olivia laughed as she took a step back. "Go sit down, let me fix you a drink."

"I'll take the only thing other than wine." He said with a tired smile, referring to the one bottle of scotch she kept on reserve for him. She refilled her glass and brought his to the couch. They settled on the couch with Olivia curled into his side. She turned the TV back up as they watched in silence.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Olivia asked, as the anchors threw it to a commercial break. She still couldn't figure out why he was being so sad.

"I lost a baby today." He whispered, taking another sip of his scotch.

Olivia sat up, facing him. "I'm so sorry."

"It has happened before." He said with a deep sadness. "I've delivered four stillborn babies. I remember each one. I remember the mothers. I remember the days."

"Come here." Olivia pulled him against her so that he was laying against her chest, in between her legs. She kissed his hair and massaged his scalp.

"There is always a reason for the death. A history of drug abuse, a traumatic incident inducing the birth, a medical history that we have monitored and prepared for… But today there was nothing. It was a nice middle class family. The mom is a kindergarten teacher and the dad sells insurance. I have worked with them for her entire pregnancy. They have a son who is four and was so excited to meet his little sister today. They are good people."

"It is not your fault."

"I know. I know that shit happens by chance and bad luck can happen to anyone, I just…" He trailed off and Olivia felt for him.

"What can I do to help?"

"You are doing it already." He said, pulling her hand from his hair and kissing her knuckle. "How was your day?"

"Relatively chill."

"I didn't know that was possibly for you."

"The key word there was relative." Olivia joked. "Mellie paid me a visit today."

"What?" Fitz lifted his head.

"She came by the office and wanted to talk." Olivia said, softly.

"About what?"

"About us." Olivia said. "It was weird, but she felt like as a mother, she needed to talk to me."

"As a mother?" Fitz was trying to make sense of it, but his anger was rising. He sat up, out of her grasp

"She wanted to know how serious I was… about us." Olivia said, reaching to pull him back to her, "Don't get mad."

"I'm not mad..." Fitz said defensively, staying out of her reach.

"You sound like it." Olivia sat up.

"I'm not mad, I'm just annoyed that my ex-wife felt like she had a right to waltz into your office to strike up a conversation about _our_ private relationship."

"It is fine, Fitz. I understand where she was coming from. It wasn't about _us_ , per say, it was about me being around Karen."

"Did she make you feel uncomfortable?"

"Fitz…"

"I can't believe her." He muttered to himself.

"Why are you letting this bother you?"

"You don't understand."

"Are you two not over with? Because I can't think to why you would be so worked up about this." Olivia half regretted the words she said as soon as they left her mouth.

"What?" He raised his eyebrows, and Olivia knew they were at a tipping point for the night.

"I didn't mean that, I just don't know why this bothers you so much."

"What are you insinuating?"

"I'm not insinuating anything." Olivia sighed.

Fitz rose, grabbing his car keys off of the table. "I should be getting home."

"Fitz—don't."

"Its fine, I'm just tired." He rose to leave. Olivia knew she should give him space, but she also didn't want him walking out like that. She watched him exit her apartment.

Fitz was mad. He now acknowledged that his emotions had risen to the _mad_ level. What right did Mellie have? Strolling into his girlfriend's work place and demanding answers. He got in his car and began to drive off. He wish he could start the day over. Before he could leave her parking garage, his phone rang. It was Olivia.

"What?" He said with annoyance in his voice.

"Come back." She said with authority.

"No."

"I'm not letting you drive home like this. Come back inside or I will chase in the street after you."

Fitz rolled his eyes, hanging up and tossing his phone into the passenger's seat. Yet, he put his car into reverse and found a parking spot. When he went up to her apartment, she was waiting in the hallway, propping her door open.

"What." He said flatly with an edge of annoyance.

Olivia motioned for him to come inside. She wasn't going to have this conversation for all of her neighbors to hear.

"What." He repeated once they were both inside.

"We need to talk about this." Olivia said softly. "I don't want to yell, and I know that you don't want to yell."

Fitz crossed his arms and sighed.

"You've had a long day, and I'm sorry. But we need to act like fucking adults."

Fit nodded, taking a seat.

"Tell me why you are so upset over this." Olivia sat on the opposite side of the couch. She felt that some space would do them good now.

"Mellie thinks that she has entitlement to my relationship with you. I told her I would introduce you when the time was right, so it irritates me that she would go to you before me." Fitz leaned back against the cushion, looking at the ceiling.

"What else?"

"What else?" Fitz looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"There is something else about this."

Fitz was silent, crossing his arms and looking back at the ceiling. "I don't want her to make you feel like you are intruding on my family."

Olivia scooted across the couch so that she was next to him. She swing a leg over his lap and straddled him, pulling his arms around her body. "I understand that." She said softly, cupping his face with her hands. "But trust me when I say that she didn't."

"You said it was uncomfortable."

"It would be weird if it wasn't." Olivia grazed her fingertips along the back of his neck. "I would be cautious if my daughter was going to be around a stranger too."

Fitz looked into her eyes with conflict brewing behind them.

"I understand that it makes you uncomfortable, but it isn't worth it to get worked up over it… I don't want my entrance into your family to be a rocky one."

Fitz sighed, leaning into her hands. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Olivia leaned forward to kiss his lips softly. "You had a long day."

"That doesn't excuse it."

"I'll survive." Olivia kissed his forehead. "If you want to spend the night, you can. I don't want you driving that far tonight. You could fall asleep at the wheel."

"I should be getting back. I have work again in the morning."

"Workaholic." Olivia pecked his lips, lightening his mood.

"Pot, meet kettle." He rebutted.

"I should let you go." Olivia rose, helping him and walking him out.

"Thank you." He said at her door. "For making me come back here."

Olivia rose on her toes to kiss him good night. "Drive safe."


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for all of the well wishes on my foot. It is finally showing signs of progress (so who know, maybe y'all wished it into action). I'm almost done with Chapter 7, so when I finish it I will publish it and be caught up. Enjoy! Don't forget to review afterwards.**

* * *

 **TWO MONTHS LATER**

"Darling, I just don't see the big deal."

Olivia internally rolled her eyes at the man in front of her.

"But, apparently those overpaid men in suits tell me that I need you to get the American public to like me again. Hell, when was the last time you had to be a decent person to be a businessman? I make money, I don't kiss babies."

"Since your business gets tangled up with legislation." Olivia said patiently. "Mr. Doyle, you need the land you want to have cleared for drilling to be approved by the Senate Natural Resources Committee. That becomes more difficult when the public associates the process with the profits your oil company will make. It makes it even more difficult when rape accusations against you pop up."

"Oh, come on. That was twenty years ago. Those women just want in on my money."

"It damages your perception, which means that when the Senate convenes in January, all of the senators who secretly want to vote in your favor will have a stack of letters from their constituents on their desk convincing them otherwise."

"I think this is all some horse shit drawn up by the hippies at the EPA and those women burning their bras. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if this all got out because of my competition!"

"It doesn't matter how it got out." Olivia felt like she was talking to a petulant child. "All that matters, is us getting in front of it and changing the narrative."

Hollis Doyle sighed a heavy sigh and nodded. "You are the best. Do what you need to do. I'll send you a check."

Abbey, Quinn, and Harrison looked on from the conference room.

"There is no way that Liv takes him as a client." Abbey stated confidently with her back to Olivia's office.

"Why not?" Quinn challenged. "He's easy money. I bet he overpays fifteen thousand."

" _He's a rapist_." Abbey hissed. "He's also the most vomit inducing human being on this planet."

"When have we ever taken on a client who was a good person?" Harrison asked.

"There was that doctor that Liv is screwing but thinks we don't know." Abbey retorted.

"Well he was the exception. Olivia is smiling, but on the inside she wants to kill Doyle right now." Harrison said with a smirk.

"Let me see." Abbey demanded. "Switch."

They rotated so that she could see Olivia rise and shake hands with the oil tycoon.

"Gross." Abbey muttered as Olivia walked him out of the office. "It looks like we have a new client."

Olivia returned into the conference room. "I need the usual profile piece on our new client, what headlines the network, cable, and print journalists are running with. I—"

"We are taking him?" Abbey challenged.

Olivia raised her eyebrow, turning towards Abbey. Harrison muffled his snicker and twirled his phone in his hand.

"Is it a vote?" Olivia asked with amusement in her voice.

"He's just—" Abbey trailed off.

"A deplorable sexist pig, yes." Olivia finished for her. "But when have we ever judged?"

"Never."

"So do you want to get me the profile or do you want to get me some poll numbers on women?"

"I'll get the profile." Abbey said bitterly.

"Great! Come back in two hours with some results."

Olivia swiveled on her heel and went back to her office.

"What?" Abbey snapped at Harrison.

"You should have known better." Harrison burst into a laugh as he pocketed his phone. "I'm going to get those headlines. Quinn, you have the numbers."

/

"Hollis Doyle. Slicker than the oil he has lined his pockets with." Abbey pinned the picture to the wall. "Born into a pit of daddy's money so deep, he's never even seen the blueness of the sky."

"Abbey—"

"Sorry. I would name all of the scandals and conspiracies about his business tactics, but this wall is not big enough. His rolodex is filled with every white collar crook from Maine to California. He has three ex-wives. Currently married to a former model who has given him a three year old son in addition to his four other children. He split from his father's multi-million dollar business of lumber to invest in oil. He is now controls the largest energy industry in America: Doyle Energy. Mainly drilling out of the Gulf of Mexico, but trying to expand inwards through Texas. The land he wants to tenderly drill through needs approval by the Senate Natural Resources Committee. The good side? It would create jobs. The bad side? It would exacerbate climate change and create questionable health conditions for thousands of families. Oh, and it would displace a Planned Parenthood facility, which is the only one within 200 miles. This uphill battle became worse when last week a Juanita Larson came forth to Huffington Post that she was raped by him in 1998. Juanita Larson, 42 years old, Baylor University. Worked as an engineer on a major rig, and claims that he raped her after everybody left the site. She didn't come out, because she didn't want to lose her job in a male dominated field, but was recently convinced to do so." Abbey tossed the tape back on the table. "Now the already despicable business man is downright unpalatable to the public."

"We never shy from a challenge." Quinn stepped forward, pinning graphics to the wall. "Before, the general public was 43% in favor of the bill. Now, that has slipped down to a dismal 31%. His favorability amongst women is at 19%, while faring better amongst men at 43%."

"Harrison?"

"They are hanging him out to dry." Harrison grinned as he began to pin headlines to the wall. "The only positive news I could find was traced to a fake news site."

"So what do we do?" Quinn asked. "What are we trying to achieve here. I thought this was an apolitical firm. We can't really take to the Hill to lobby for him… Even if anyone in this room wanted to."

"That isn't our job." Olivia agreed, leaning against the conference room. "Our job is to help the public's perception of him. The outcome of the vote in two months is not our responsibility. That is politics, and we are not."

"So how do we turn the most disgusting man in America into a saint?" Harrison asked, twirling his phone in thought.

"I think I would pay to watch him crash and burn at this point." Abbey said.

"Not yet." Olivia said with a slight grin. "I have a plan."

/

"Oh my god. Fitz."

"What?"

" _Get in here._ " Olivia yelled. " _Now._ "

Fitz sprinted out of the kitchen into the living room where Olivia was playing with Alex. He expected some kind of emergency, and in those three seconds it took him to reach her, his mind imagined the worst. His palms started to sweat and his heart raced. Yet, when he reached the living room, there was no emergency.

There was just Alex taking her first steps. There was Alex clutching Olivia's fingers in her pudgy hands as she took wobbly steps.

"Jesus, Livvie, don't yell like that, I thought something was wrong." Fitz said, trying to steady his erratic heartbeat.

"Shhh." Olivia whispered. Alex fell onto her bottom, but Olivia swiftly scooped her up, kissing her forehead, and setting her back on her feet. "Come on, baby girl. You have this."

Alex faltered, her knees begging to give out. But she straightened out and took a confident step before falling. She looked over to Fitz and emphatically crawled over to him. He crouched down to the floor and picked her up, turning her around and setting her up. Instead of walking towards Olivia, she turned around and grabbed a handful of Fitz's shirt.

"Wow. She really likes you."

"I should hope so." Fitz laughed as he handed Alex back to her. Olivia helped her back up, this time, not touching her. Alex took three steps, unassisted, as she walked into Fitz's arms.

"Great job, baby girl." Fitz cooed as he held her up in the air. "Let's try it again."

He set her up and held her hands before releasing her to go to Olivia. She took five quickened steps before falling into Olivia's lap. She smiled a spit heavy grin as she realized she did something right. Olivia peppered her face with kisses as the baby babbled happy nonsense.

"She did it." Olivia had tears flowing freely down her face. "She can walk."

Fitz scooted over to Olivia and kissed her lips making her smile widen. "I'll bring dinner in here to eat."

Olivia hooked her hand behind his neck and kissed him, before letting him go back to the kitchen to finish preparing their meal. "Is Karen eating with us?"

"She said she was." Fitz called out as he disappeared into the kitchen. "I just texted her to let her know if she wanted dinner hot, she better be home soon."

"And I would have responded, except I was driving." Karen said as she bounded in the door. "Hey, dad."

"Hey, Liv." She went into the living room. " _And hey, little Alex_." She said in her baby voice. "What have you been doing all day?"

"Alex has something she wants to show you." Olivia beamed as Karen walked into the living room. Olivia set her up again, releasing her to a couple of wobbly steps on her own. This time, Alex stood on her own after her few steps before collapsing again and crawling the rest of her way to Karen.

"Oh my _god_." Karen exclaimed as she set Alex up to try to walk back to Olivia. This time, Alex took two steps, deciding she had enough of trying new things and crawled to a toy, communicating with nonsense babbles.

"Dinner's ready." Fitz called from the kitchen. "Let's eat in the dining room for once."

"Let me go get Alex's high chair from my car." Olivia said.

"I'll take her. I haven't had enough time with this butterball lately." Karen took Alex from Olivia's arms.

"Thank you." Olivia said. "Sometimes I wonder why she prefers you to me, but then I remember how much you spoil her."

"I do what I can." Karen winked.

They settled down to eat dinner. Karen had really gotten to love Olivia. She told Olivia once, that when Andrew and Mellie outed their relationship, she not only resented Andrew for splitting her parents up, but also for the way he talked to her. He treated her like she was five years younger than her age, whereas Olivia talked to her like an adult.

"Have you talked to Jerry lately?" Fitz asked in between bites of his dinner.

"Yeah, we talked last night." Karen said casually. "Wait… when was the last time he talked to you?"

"Two weeks ago." Fitz said bitterly.

Karen giggled, before catching herself.

"What?"

"Nothing. I can just see how much it bothers you."

"It doesn't bother me." Fitz said defensively. "I understand that he's in college."

"He is still alive, still madly in love with Anna, midterms are kicking his butt, but he's still coming out on top." Karen said with a smile. "To answer all of the burning questions behind your cool dad façade."

"Tell him to call me every now and then."

"Will do."

"Are you and Hayden all set for the homecoming dance this weekend?"

"I guess so." Karen said with a slight eye roll.

Olivia raised her eyebrows at Karen, questioning the shift in her attitude. "Is there something going on there?"

"It's nothing. I don't want to talk about it."

"I haven't seen your dress yet, do you have a picture?" Olivia asked, changing the subject.

After dinner, Olivia helped Fitz with the dishes, and they watched the evening news in the living room. Karen settled down to do homework in the recliner. Fitz helped her with some ways to remember facts on her anatomy homework. Alex was dozing off to sleep with the help of a pacifier against Olivia's chest.

"Hollis Doyle has come under fire for rape accusations, after a former employee came out. Juanita Larson claims that he forced himself onto her on a late night at the office. This causes problems for Doyle Energy as the Senate decides whether or not to zone a 59 square mile land area for drilling. Joining us tonight is…"

They listened as the pundits weighed in on the case.

"That is so disgusting." Karen said, setting her books to the side. "I mean, how does anyone that awful get so far in life?"

"He was born rich. Money does a lot, especially in D.C." Fitz commented. Olivia held her tongue, just because of the conflict of him being her client.

"It's sad, because I know some people at school who think just like him. Someone in school was defending him, saying the woman just wants his money."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Karen." Fitz said. "Some people are just stupid."

"Have you ever met Hollis Doyle?" Karen turned to Olivia. "I mean, doesn't people of his status frequent your office?"

"Karen…" Fitz said.

"I've met him a couple of times." Olivia said simply. She couldn't lie to Karen, no matter how much she wanted to.

"This would be the perfect situation where he would need your help. I mean, this is a PR nightmare." Karen mused out loud. She noticed Olivia shifting her attention to Alex in her lap. "Wait… Is he your client?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't talk about my work, Karen." Olivia said calmly.

Her eyes narrowed. "So you are."

"I can't talk about any clients past, present, or future."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you weren't working on this." Karen said with a hint of accusatory tone.

"Karen, watch it." Fitz warned.

"It's okay." Olivia softly put her hand on his knee.

"No, really, how does one help someone like this?" Karen asked, but her voice was very much on the offensive.

"I can't talk about my cases, Karen."

"So you are working for him?" Karen accused.

Olivia was silent for a moment, holding her gaze with Karen's. "Some things are very complicated in my line of work."

"What could be so complicated that you represent a sexist ass hole?"

"Karen, that's enough." Fitz put his foot down. "We don't talk like that."

"I think I would be better off finishing my chem homework in my room. The TV is very distracting." She gathered her books and disappeared out of the living room.

"I'm so sorry, I'm going to go talk to her." Fitz rose.

"No." Olivia stopped him by grabbing his hand. "You should let her be alone for now. I'll talk to her later."

"She had no right to speak to you like that."

"I understand where she is coming from." Olivia pulled him back to the couch. "Trust me, she is mad at me. I can handle it."

"Okay… I just want to warn you about the ticking time bomb of a seventeen year old girl."

"I'm familiar… I used to be one."

"Touché."

Olivia waited until the news show ended before handing Alex over to Fitz and making her way up to Karen's room. She knocked on the door, before hearing "come in." from the other side. She entered to see Karen's room for the first time. It was chicly decorated with varying shades of black and white. Her wall was decorated with a world map and polaroids of her friends and her. Karen was lying on her bed on her stomach with her books in front of her.

"This is my first time in here. I like your room." Olivia commented. "May I?" She motioned to the desk chair.

"Go for it." Karen pulled herself up to sit with her legs crossed.

"I didn't mean to upset you earlier." Olivia sighed. "I just can't tell you who I represent and how I do my job. It isn't because I don't think that you are smart enough to understand, or trustworthy enough. I don't even tell your father anything. It is a confidentiality agreement I sign with my clients."

"I'm not pissed about you not telling me." Karen rolled her eyes "I'm pissed that you are even representing that pig."

"I never said I was representing him." Olivia corrected. "But if I _was_ … You would have to understand that in my line of work, I can't judge. It is never personal with my clients and my firm. I represent murderers and victims alike. My job isn't to believe in what they stand for or even like them as a human. My job is to make sure that the crisis is handled. That is it."

"But how do you justify that at the end of the day?"

"I think of how many mistakes I have made. How many mistakes you have made. How many mistakes Alex will make. That doesn't mean that we are bad people. If I can help nine good people and have to help one bad person, then I would say I've done well."

Karen looked down at her hands, her body language not changing.

"And for the record—I think Doyle is a disgusting person. Regardless of his status at my firm. No real man does things like that. Only a coward."

"I'm sorry about lashing out earlier." Karen looked up at her.

"Forgiven." Olivia smiled. "I should be leaving soon. It's getting late."

"You know that you can spend the night here, right?"

"What?" Olivia stopped at the door to Karen's room.

"I mean, I know that you and dad are adults. He doesn't have to spend all of those nights at your place. I'm sure that you probably feel awkward about spending the night here with me still here, but it's cool. I get it. "

"Noted." Olivia blushed as she exited.

She found Fitz in his same spot on the couch, reading a medical journal.

"Were you actually reading that? Or just waiting for me to come out?" She joked as she resumed her spot next to him.

"How did it go?"

"All is forgiven." She smiled, kissing the corner of his mouth. "I should be heading home. We both have work in the morning."

"I'll walk you out." Fitz carried Alex's carrier out to Olivia's car and helped her into her car seat. Olivia leaned against the side of her car, pulling him against her. "I don't know how you cracked the messy code of Karen's emotional outbursts in under ten minutes, but I would pay to know your secret."

"She's surprisingly easier to convince than my team." Olivia commented.

"Let me guess… It's Abbey."

"She is so fucking stubborn sometimes." Olivia laughed as she intertwined her fingers into his. "Thank you for dinner."

"My pleasure." He craned his neck down to kiss her lips softly. The way she reacted to him with her whole body drove him a little insane. She was so beautiful with her bundle of layers in the early November cold. When he finally pulled away, she was breathless, a tiny puff of her breath visible against the streetlight. "Are you sure you want to end the night here?" Fitz asked, rubbing his thumb along her cheek.

"We both have work in the morning." Olivia laughed, putting her hand between them. "And I can only blame so many more late days on Alex."

"Goodnight, love."

"Goodnight." Olivia pecked his cheek before climbing into her car and driving home.

/

"Where have you been?" Abbey was already in a confrontational stance with her arms crossed as Olivia power walked in.

"I texted you already. Alex's nanny got in a fender bender this morning, and then she got caught in rush hour traffic." Olivia thought how ironic it was that just the night before, Fitz was making a very convincing argument that they should spend the night. Yet, here she was, two hours late anyways. "Everybody, drop what you are doing. Conference room. Now."

Everybody filed into the conference room.

"Has the girl responded to our request?"

"The _girl_ 's name is Juanita, and no." Abbey said with an obvious attitude.

"Shit." Olivia muttured.

"So are we abandoning the first plan?" Quinn asked. "If she won't even speak to us, settling is impossible."

"Not abandon. Adapt." Olivia said as she turned back towards the wall of pictures. "Abbey. You are with me. We are going to pay her a visit of our own."

"And us?" Harrison asked.

"Keep your finger to the pulse of the news. Let me know any new ammo against Doyle that pops up. Dig too. If we know what they are going to throw at us—if there is any more—we need to outsmart them. I also want more on Juanita Larson."

"Gotcha."

"What are we going to do?" Abbey asked, as she rose and put her coat on.

"I want to shift it from covering up, to pulling it out in the open. Her sitting down with Doyle. A one on one _forgiveness-fest_. He apologizes and seems genuine. She is the bigger person and forgives him—"

"Okay, no." Abbey stopped in her tracks. "Are you really going to expect her to set aside her trauma and sit down next to that pig?"

Olivia stood there in shock as Abbey openly challenged her. "That pig is our client."

"Who we shouldn't even be representing." Abbey shot back.

"It is my name on the door." Olivia said with an edge of annoyance. "And I am not in the mood today."

"That isn't good enough."

" _If you have a problem with it, then quit._ " Olivia snapped. They stood there with eyes locked. Harrison and Quinn were statues, too scared to move and disrupt the conflict. "My office. Now." Olivia sighed and pointed for Abbey to take their spat into her office. "Everybody else, get to work."

Once they were safely inside of her office, Olivia turned to face Abbey. Olivia held her hands out and raised her eyebrow.

"What the hell has gotten into you?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Abbey replied.

"I understand that this is personal for you. But this is not a personal firm. We don't let feelings get in the way of our jobs. You are allowed to disagree with my decisions, but you aren't allowed to interfere with the way we do business around here. It is my name on the door."

"It is your name on the door. And when I signed on, I agreed to go over a cliff for _the_ Olivia Pope. You always had my back, and I would do the same."

"So what has changed?"

" _You_."

Olivia was stunned. "I don't know—"

"You have changed. You don't include us in any of the decisions you make. You show up late every day, and that is on the days you actually decide to show up. When we call you with work, you tell us to figure it out ourselves. You have been distant."

" _I had a child_." Olivia gasped. "Naturally, things are going to be different. If you think it is easy raising a child on my own while managing my own business, then you are delusional."

"I never said that—"

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you aren't the Olivia Pope you used to be. You are distracted, and you have lost discipline."

Olivia paused at her last word, knowing that she meant more to it. Olivia knew that her team knew that she was seeing someone. She knew they had probably figured out who it was, but she never expected Abbey to find a problem with it.

"I am allowed to put myself and Alex first."

"I'm not saying you aren't. But we are your family too. Don't forget that." Abbey said.

Olivia couldn't think of anything to say, so she walked back out into the conference room. "Quinn, you are with me. Harrison, call me if you have anything."

/

Olivia hummed in approval at the red liquid hitting her tongue. "I needed this."

"Rough week?"

"Mhmm." Olivia sighed.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Olivia pondered for a moment if she should tell Fitz about her hectic mutiny at work. To hell, it was only Doyle and he could have assumed as much so far. "I took on Hollis Doyle as a client with this whole rape-accusation disaster. I have represented people who are awful before, but my team is falling apart over this. It is like they are incapable of doing their job, because they see him as some ethical deathbed."

"Can't you drop him?"

"Of course, but that is not what we do. We handle shit and don't pass judgment."

"How close are you to solving the case?"

"I don't even know. I feel like I've been grasping at straws with this and we never seem to come out on top. I'm tired of defending myself to my own people, but I am not ready to call it quits. At least I got to go for a swim today. I forgot how much that helps to clear out everything in my head."

Fitz squeezed her hand from across the table.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you like that. How was your day?"

"Karen was a mild wreck today, scrambling from here to Mellie's. I don't know how she managed to leave everything in the wrong house, but at least she was dressed and ready for her boyfriend to pick her up by five."

"Do you have a picture?"

"Yeah." Fitz flipped through his phone and passed it to her.

Olivia looked at the picture of Karen in her dress with her hair done and makeup. She was standing next to her boyfriend in a garden with a small hand bouquet. "Oh, wow, she is beautiful… Do you feel old?"

"Shut up." He snatched his phone back.

"So they go out to eat, go to the dance, then spend the night at a friend's house?"

"Yeah. It's a whole process." Fitz laughed. "But now she can focus on having fun and not be in the funk she's been in this past week."

"Cheers to that." Olivia said as she took a sip. "I was invited to a gala for this foundation that one of my clients heads. Do you want to go with me?"

"My tux hasn't seen this much sunlight in a long time." He smiled. "I would be honored."

"Great. Its next week. The Tuesday before Thanksgivings."

"Speaking of Thanksgivings, what are your plans?"

"I don't know. I'm usually working." Olivia took a bite out of her food. "How does it work between you and Mellie?"

"We have dinner at their house, then I take the kids to pick out a Christmas tree to decorate for my place. You should spend it with us."

"I don't want to intrude." Oliva said, taking another sip.

"You wouldn't be."

Olivia nodded, letting him know that she would think about it.

/

"It has been a while." Olivia murmured as she made work of his buttons. They were barely in the door from dinner, when she jumped him. He picked her up, setting her on the kitchen counter and parting her legs.

"And whose fault is that?" He growled into her neck, making her laugh. Olivia tried to respond, but his hand sneaking up her blouse to cup her breast made it hard to think. She yanked his lips to hers by her hand in his hair. She was so fucking horny for him that she couldn't care less about taking her time. She pulled his shirt off and quickly undid his belt. Fitz scooped her off of the counter and carried her to his bedroom. Olivia removed her shirt while he kissed along her chest.

He set her on the bed, but she immediately pulled his pants down, kissing own his abdomen. It was astounding how quickly they removed of their clothes.

Fitz was then pinning Olivia to his bed. His weight against her parted legs felt incredible as she lined him up with her. Olivia bit her lip at the intense anticipatory butterflies in her stomach that always hit. Fitz teased her opening with his tip, waiting for the moment of peak frustration from her.

"Fuck." Olivia muttered as reached to help him out, but he entered, taking her by surprise. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as Fitz found his rhythm inside of her. She was certain that nobody had ever kissed her like he did, as he sucked her tongue into his mouth, like he couldn't ever have enough of her.

"Harder." She whispered as he picked up his pace, hooking her leg over his shoulder. " _Fuck_."

He could feel her orgasm coming. The way her brow crinkled and lips parted let him know that she was close. He grinded his hips to stimulate her clit, making sure she came soon. Once she came, he hiked her other leg up, pounding into her until he got his release.

"Whew." Olivia laughed as he collapsed next to her. She reached across to wipe some of the sweat from his forehead.

"One day we'll get too old for this."

"You are holding up pretty well so far, old man." She laughed, kissing his jaw. "You make me happy." She whispered softly, pulling herself closer to him.

He kissed her hair, hugging her close. Olivia knew it was a matter of seconds before she let her exhausting week catch up to her.

/

Olivia heard the distinct vibrating of her phone piercing through her sleep. She quickly rolled out of Fitz's arms, trying not to let her phone wake him. She found it in her pants pocket. She was going to silence it, until she saw the caller ID.

 _Karen Grant_.

"Hello?" She whispered as she went into Fitz's bathroom. Thankfully, he was still passed out, his hair an unruly mess.

"Um… Is this Olivia Pope?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

"Yes, it is. Who am I speaking to?"

"My name is Meghan. I'm Karen's friend. She asked for me to call you."

"Where is she? Why are you calling me at two in the morning?" The girl on the phone was obviously in distress.

"Uh… You might want to come get Karen. She is in bad shape."

"What happened?"

"She just drank too much, but I also think she smoked some too. I don't know but I think she might have alcohol poisoning."

"Are there any adults there?"

"Yeah, my parents are in the main house, but we can't go wake them up. They would be _so_ pissed, and I would be in so much trouble."

Olivia thought about Fitz in bed. He would be inconsolably angry if she woke him up with this. First, she needed to make sure Karen was safe.

"Text me the address. Make sure she is sitting up and stays conscious. Try to feed her any crackers or bread that you have. I will be there soon."

"Okay. Come around to the guest house in the back."

Olivia went back to the bedroom, quietly getting dressed.

"Fitz." She whispered, kissing his cheek.

"Hmm?" He mumbled with his eyes still closed. His arm wrapped around her waist, feeling the fabric of her shirt. "Why are you wearing clothes?"

"I just got a call from a client. I have to go."

"No." He protested, sleepily tightening his grip on her.

Olivia laughed softly as she pulled a pillow from her side of the bed and replaced her body with it. "Sorry." She sealed her apology with a brief kiss before leaving.

It was a short drive to where Karen was staying. Olivia parked on the street of what was a nice suburb with beautifully large houses. She walked around to the back of the house to see a well-lit guest house. When she entered, she smelled the strong smell of spilled beer and was met with the sight of high schoolers passed out in sleeping bags and on the couch.

"You must be Olivia." A tall girl with long red hair said. She had obviously been drinking, but wasn't nearly out of control.

"Where is Karen?"

"In here." She led her to a bathroom. Karen was sitting on the tile floor with her head between her knees. She looked up when she heard Olivia enter.

"Olivia—I'm so sorry." Her makeup was smudged and her eyes were red.

"Hey, it's okay." Olivia turned to Meghan. "When did she last throw up?"

"I don't know, maybe ten minutes ago?"

"Karen." Olivia crouched down. "I'm going to take you home with me. Do you feel like you are going to throw up anymore?"

Karen's eyes struggled to focus, but she shook her head meagerly.

"Alright, let me help you stand." Olivia threw Karen's arm over her shoulder and helped her stand. It took both Olivia and Meghan to guide her to the car.

"Whatever happens, don't let my parents find out about this." Meghan begged as they strapped Karen in.

"I won't say a word."

Olivia drove Karen to her apartment. She immediately ruled out taking her to Fitz's house. It was best that he didn't see her like this.

"Can I go to sleep yet?" Karen mumbled.

"No, not yet. Wait until I get you into a bed." Olivia said. 'How are you feeling?"

"Nauseous."

"Hold it in." Olivia said. "We are almost there."

Once they got to her apartment, she gave her some of her clothes to sleep in. She set her up on her couch with a pillow and comforter.

"If you feel like you need to throw up, do it here." She set a trashcan in front of her. "And here is some water. If you need anything, I will be in the last door down that hallway."

"I'm so sorry, Olivia." Karen slurred. "Are you going to tell Dad?"

Olivia didn't respond. She just patted her arm. "Get some sleep."

/

The next morning, Olivia woke up early. She had to pick up Alex from her nanny's. She was glad that with what happened last night, she chose that night for an overnight nanny job. She couldn't have dealt with a fussy baby as well. By eight, she had Alex napping against her chest and she was reading the paper, waiting for Karen to wake up.

Karen stirred, squinting against the sunlight streaming through the windows. Fighting her headache, she tried to sit, but settled for just propping herself on her elbow.

"Wha—Where am I?"

"In my apartment." Olivia pointed to the bottle of Aspirin on the coffee table. "Take two of those and drink that glass of water. It will help your head."

Karen dutifully gulped down the pills and water.

"Do you want to explain what happened last night?"

"After the dance, we went to Meghan's house. Hayden and I got into a stupid fight, and he left… with someone else. I started drinking, and I guess it got out of hand… Oh my god… I did some stupid shit last night. The last thing I can remember is throwing up in her back yard."

Olivia paused, trying to frame her words carefully. "Karen… Were you taken advantage of in any way?"

"No…" Karen's brow crinkled. "Not that I can remember."

Olivia didn't press it. She still knew that she had boundaries, not being her mother. "Your friend Meghan called me. I brought you here. I figured it wasn't smart to have your father see you like this."

"Does he know?" Karen's eyes widened.

"No. He doesn't."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"No." Olivia said, noting the relief on her face. She had thought through this all morning. "But you are."

"What?"

"You need to tell your parents."

"I can't—do you know how much trouble I would be in?"

"Not as much as if they find out another way."

"What difference would it make? I got drunk at a party and it wasn't pretty, but I'm okay now. Telling them would only make them mad at something they can't fix."

"It's called taking responsibility. But you have to do it." Olivia rose from her seat with Alex in her arms. "Come on. I can drive you home."

Olivia drove her to the end of Mellie's block. She didn't want Mellie to see her dropping Karen off in the morning.

"I'm sorry that I called you last night." Karen said as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "I shouldn't have asked you to clean up after me."

"I'm just glad that you are safe."

/

"Bad news, bad news." Harrison said as Olivia came back from setting Alex down. On a late evening like this, she needed the nanny to drop Alex off instead of her making it home in time.

"I don't want bad news, I want solutions." Olivia said.

Harrison flipped on the TV, shuffling between the major networks. "The major networks arrived thirty minutes ago. America fucking loves a good protest."

"Turn the volume up."

"The residents of Fort McKavett, Texas have assembled in protest against Doyle Energy's proposed plan to start drilling in the nearby area. They say that the drilling will create unsafe air and water quality. Here with me is Martha Berry. Martha, why are you assembling out here?"

The polished field reporter held the microphone out to a woman who very much looked like she belonged in a small town in Texas. "I just think it is disgraceful how rich men can push aside the everyday people of America. This is my land. This land has been in my family for five generations. I don't want my cattle roaming next to a giant oil rig. I don't want my children breathin' in the nasty chemicals!"

"Thank you. Many of the residents from nearby affected counties as well as from across the state are making the journey to join them. They expect their numbers to grow to over 7,000 by tomorrow."

"Turn it off." Olivia said, leaning against the table.

"It is only getting worse." Harrison flipped the TV to show his laptop. "Articles after articles are popping up."

"Shit. We have the networks, the papers, everybody with a twitter account against us. Who is for us?"

" Liberty1982 says _Doyle is the man. Takes whatever pussy and land he wants. True patriot_. _Feminazis are mad._ And I don't think he's being sarcastic." Quinn rolled her eyes at the tweet.

"I need numbers."

"28% in favor of the land being zoned for Doyle. 13% in favor of him as a person." Abbey shot in. She had yet to become completely on board, but at least she wasn't actively obstructing their work.

"What about the economic side." Harrison brainstormed. "Highlight the jobs aspect of his business. His business will bring thousands of jobs to this area that is so anti-oil."

"Or just bypass the American public all together. Regardless of how the country feels, the senate has the final say. The beauty of American democracy." Quinn said.

"No, we can't do that. It isn't our job to get the Senate to like him. That isn't why we were hired. We have to maintain our political neutrality."

"So we focus on the man?" Abbey leaned back in her seat. "The most undesirable man in all of America?"

"We _can't_ give up." Olivia slammed her palm on her thigh. "There has to be another way, another angle."

"We have company." Huck muttered as everybody turned to the hallway, where Hollis Doyle and his assistant were walking towards the conference room.

"Good evening, Hollis." Olivia said, "Have a seat."

"With what I have to say, you won't want me to be long." He stood at the end of the table. "I want to know why you are screwing me over."

"No screwing is going on here." Olivia calmly replied.

Abbey was about to say _not by us, at least_ , but a sharp look from Harrison stopped her.

"Don't piss on my Stetson and tell me its rainin', Miss Pope." Doyle said. "You were hired two weeks ago, and I have yet to see any progress around here. I don't mind splurging every now and then on a nice chick, but you are filling out a blank check to last you the next year."

"We are doing our best, Mr. Doyle." Olivia began, but was interrupted by Alex's wails from her office. "Please join me in my office. I have a whiny 11 month old to take care of."

"Of course." Hollis followed her to her office and took a seat across from the desk.

Olivia picked up Alex from her crib and a bottle from the fridge, before settling in her chair. "Just because you can't see things, doesn't mean they aren't happening." She stalled, silencing Alex with the bottle.

"Quite frankly, I'm done with this. I don't know who you fooled before into thinking you were _the best in the town_ , but all I see is a failing firm. Like I said, I don't give a rat's ass whether or not you or the rest of the damn country likes me. But when I see my approval ratings plunging even more, when they should be rising. Well—I won't be a fool anymore."

Hollis, I ask that you don't use vulgarity in front of my daughter." Olivia patted Alex's back and stuck a pacifier in her mouth before she could babble more into their conversation.

"Save it. I don't want another excuse. I want results." He rose, and pulled his coat on. "And soon."

Olivia didn't bother to make a move to follow him out. Instead, she just rocked Alex back and forth in her arms. Alex had a different plan in mind as she protested and wriggled her way to the floor.

"Oh, so you want to play now, huh?" Olivia smiled as she positioned some toys on the ground.

"Liv?" Abbey peeked her head in her office. "What is the move?"

"I don't know." Olivia sighed, helping Alex hobble a little bit, finding her footing. "Go home. Tell everybody else. Come in tomorrow with fresh faces and answers."

"Okay." She nodded, backing out.

Olivia listened as she heard everybody shuffle out of the office. She entertained Alex for a little while longer, before flipping on the news. She watched the loops of the protests, growing in size and spreading across Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin. It was turning into an environmental movement. She sighed, forcing herself to be distracted by Alex. Her phone buzzed with a text from Fitz, so she pulled it out of her purse.

 _ **Fitz:**_ _I'm just now getting off of work. Jerry comes in late tonight, but I want to have dinner with you._

 _ **Olivia:**_ _I wish I could, but I don't think I will have time to make it over tonight. I'm stuck at the office._

 _ **Fitz:**_ _Is your team there?_

 _ **Olivia:**_ _No, I sent them home._

 _ **Fitz:**_ _I'm up the street, I will bring some food by_

"Liv." Harrison knocked on her door.

"Come in." She put her phone in her back pocket.

He joined her on the floor with Alex. "What are you thinking?"

"What do you mean?" Olivia set Alex up to walk, and she did to Harrison.

"That look on your face is… not good."

"I thought I sent you home."

"Yet, here I am." Harrison turned Alex around to walk back to her mother.

"I don't know. I don't know."

"It is okay to drop it."

"Harrison—"

"No, hear me out. I'm not Abbey. I am completely ethically fine with representing him. I just don't want the firm to be run off its track in order to tackle this impossible task."

Olivia sighed and leaned her back against the desk. "We have a rule here."

"Never give up."

"Exactly."

"Olivia." Both Harrison and Olivia turned to see Mellie standing in the door.

"Mellie." Olivia smiled. "It is good to see you. Harrison?"

"I'll see you tomorrow." He took his cue. "Remember, rules are meant to be broken every now and then."

"Goodnight." Olivia dismissed him and stood with Alex in her arms. "What can I do for you?"

"What right do you think you have?"

"Mellie…" Olivia had a feeling that she knew what Mellie was talking about. She also had a feeling that Mellie had misconstrued it in her mind to be something else.

"Karen told me that she got very drunk, made some very bad decisions, and called you to clean up her mess."

"She did." A heavy moment of silence hung in the room. Olivia put Alex back in her crib with a stuffed animal the size of her. "I understand why you might be upset, but—"

"You aren't her mother. She needed me for something like that."

"My primary concern was her safety." Olivia said calmly.

"I could have handled it."

"I know you could have." Olivia stood up and walked around her desk, leaning against it. "I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries—"

"Mellie?"

Olivia looked over to see Fitz walked through her open office door. He had takeout in his arms. "What are you doing here?"

"Fitz, did you know about this?" Mellie turned to him.

"Know about what?"

"Karen's escapades that Olivia covered up?"

"That is not what—"

"Mellie what the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how Homecoming night, Karen called Olivia after drinking too much, and Olivia picked her up and let her stay at her apartment."

"Olivia is this true?"

"Her friend called me thinking she had alcohol poisoning. I made sure she was safe." Olivia felt uncomfortable having to explain everything. "I didn't want to wake you because you had work the next morning, and you would have gotten very angry."

Fitz looked at her for a prolonged second before turning to Mellie. "Can we have some privacy?"

Mellie was clearly not done with her conversation with Olivia. She opened her mouth to say anything, but just huffed. "I have to go pick up Jerry from the airport anyways."

Olivia watched Mellie leave. She turned to Fitz whose face was unreadable.

"Have a seat, Fitz."

"No." He said bluntly. "So let me get this straight. Karen called you, drunk. My underage daughter was intoxicated and you crawled out of _my_ bed to go cover for her. Didn't think to tell me. Instead, you _lied_ to me, told me you had to work, and went to go take care of my daughter."

"I understand why you are angry…" Olivia walked over to his space and rested a hand on his arm, which was tautly crossed. "But it wouldn't have done any good to have you see her like that. She got in an argument with her boyfriend, and made a mistake."

Fitz backed away from her hand subtly and started to pace. "I swear to—so she thought that she could use you as some get out of jail free card?"

"This is why. You are a father, you would have gone into that house angry."

"Because that is my daughter." Fitz's voice rose.

"I have a daughter too." Olivia snapped. Alex cried out at the loud, angry noises coming from the room. Her screams pierced the tension between them like a knife. Olivia sighed as she rocked her, kissing her cheek and trying to comfort her. Olivia looked back at Fitz who was putting his coat on. She collected herself and her tone before continuing. "Did you think I didn't imagine Alex in her shoes? Did you think that I don't worry about her when she is Karen's age?"

"You are telling me that if that was Alex, you wouldn't have wanted to know?"

"If that was Alex, I would have wanted her safety to be a priority." Olivia felt exhausted from the conversation. They were running at wit's end, and with the day she had, she didn't have much patience or fight in her. "And I'm sorry that this happened. I never intended to overstep any boundaries with Mellie or you."

"Enjoy your dinner." He motioned to the bags of food he left on her desk.

Olivia watched, stunned as he left her alone. Olivia turned her attention to calming Alex in her arms.

"Shh, I know, I know." She cooed, rubbing her back. "We are all a little fussy today."

/

Karen wiped her eyes for the tenth time and took a deep breath. She was so ashamed when she told her mother about her Homecoming night. She was even more ashamed of how her mother reacted. She didn't mean to get Olivia in trouble. If anything, she wanted to omit her part from all of it. She felt awful for calling her in the first place. Karen heard a knock on her door.

"Come in." She said, straightening up and tucked the tissues under her bed.

"Hey." Fitz entered, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"If you are coming to yell at me, Mom already did an A+ job."

"I'm not in the mood to yell." He looked at her with soft eyes. "But I do want to know why you did what you did."

Karen didn't respond at first, looking down at her hands. "I was upset after a fight with Hayden. It was a stupid decision, but I was vulnerable. I just didn't know that alcohol was like that."

"Why were you and Hayden fighting?"

Karen shook her head. "It is too stupid to repeat. But he embarrassed me in front of everybody. I felt like my two options were to start crying or drinking."

"Baby, those are never the only options." Fitz said sympathetically. "Why didn't you call me? Why did you call Olivia?"

"I didn't want you to see me like that. I knew that Olivia is used to cleaning up people's messes. It sounds awful when I say it like that. I don't even remember telling Meghan to call her, but apparently I said it while I was blacked out."

"You were blacked out?" His eyebrows rose. "Did… Did anybody try to take advantage of you?"

"No." Karen said with a sniffle. "But it was one of the scariest times of my life. I never want to drink again."

"And you won't." Fitz said flatly. "You realize that there will be definite consequences for this, right?"

"Mom stormed out of the house so quickly she couldn't fully outline them, but I got the gist of severity."

"No cell phone. I will give you an hour to collect any school documents from your computer. Any schoolwork can be done at the library. You need your car for school, but permission to use it for anything other than school and extra-curricular activities must be passed by me or your mother. I also want to see that SAT prep book cracked twice as much."

"Okay." Karen said in a surprisingly accepting voice that surprised Fitz.

"The better your attitude, the more you help around the house the shorter your sentence will be."

"I'm really sorry about this. I didn't mean to drag Olivia into anything."

"I'm hurt that you used her as your personal fixer. I'm even more hurt that you thought you couldn't trust me."

"Don't be mad at her, though. She didn't tell you about it because it was my actions that I had to own up to."

Fitz nodded curtly with his lips tightened. "Come here." Fitz pulled Karen into his arms. It had been a long time since they shared a hug like this. He was fully grasping how grown she was in his arms. She wasn't his little girl anymore.

"I'm so sorry." Karen whispered.

"We all make mistakes. You just have to learn from them."

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too." He pulled back. "Now, you can transfer your files, clean this room and be down to help your mother put away her fall decorations if you want to show regret over your decisions."

"Yes sir."

Fitz left her and went down to see Mellie in the kitchen. She was packing up centerpieces into a cardboard box.

"Well?"

"I talked to her. I laid out the terms of her punishment."

"And?"

"She's very sorry. She accepted them all out of embarrassment… Do you know why she was fighting with her boyfriend?"

"She found messages to another girl in their homecoming group on his phone, and he admitted to having sex with the other girl in front of everybody."

Fitz put his hands out against the counter. "Wait, him and Karen didn't—"

"No—she's still a… anyways. Apparently he left the party with the girl and that really messed her up."

"Oh…" Fitz grimaced. "I'd like that punk to get close to her again."

Mellie was silent for a moment, fidgeting over the packaging Styrofoam. "I'm sorry, but I am not okay with Olivia's involvement in this."

"Me neither." Fitz muttered, surprising Mellie. "But I'm also not okay with you going to her office to confront her about it. Jesus, Mel. She has a confidential job and can't have our family drama interfering. It's tacky."

"Well, I'm not okay with her going behind our backs to fix our children's problems."

"Me neither. But you should have come to me first. I feel so fucking left out of all of this." He sighed, heavily. "Is Jerry home? I haven't seen him yet."

"He immediately went to Anna's house. He's going to be home for dinner."

"I have to go." He said. "But tell him to swing by the house."

Mellie nodded, "I'll see you Thursday."

/

Olivia was still at the office that night. She was so bogged down with work, she wondered if she could find a break to go home and sleep. Alex was fast asleep in her crib.

Her phone buzzed, lighting up against the dimly lit room.

"Jerry?" She answered, double checking the caller ID.

"It's actually me, Karen."

"Karen… Why are you calling me from Jerry's phone?"

"Dad took my phone—expectedly. But I have to say some things to you."

"Okay, go ahead." Olivia leaned back in her chair.

"I know I have already said this, but thank you for coming that night. I shouldn't have called you and expected so much of you. But thank you again. Also, I don't want this to break you and dad. I don't want a stupid decision on my part to keep you two apart. He said he wasn't mad, but I could tell. Just give him some time. I couldn't have asked for a better person like you in my life, and I don't want to lose you."

Olivia was silent for a second, controlling the tears in her voice. "I'm not going anywhere, Karen. And for the record, I would do it again for you. Just promise me _you_ won't ever do that again."

"I won't… I have to go. Jerry needs his phone back. Bye."

The line quickly went dead and Olivia let a stream of tears out. Talking to Fitz was easier said than done. He was mad at her, so he was the one who needed to come to her. She was hoping that after talking to Karen, he saw more of her side.

No matter what, it was best they waited until morning. She was way too tired to carry on a conversation, much less argue or make up.

"Let's go home, baby girl." Olivia kissed Alex's cheek and gathered her things to head home.


	7. Chapter 7

**Good morning! Thank you for all of the reviews on the last chapter. Whenever I write them into a hole and get different responses from you guys, it lets me know that I am doing a good job.**

 **Should I have split this chapter into two? Yes. But I couldn't find a stopping point.**

Dead Hearts—Stars

I could say it, but you won't believe me  
You say you do, but you don't deceive me  
It's hard to know they're out there  
It's hard to know that you still care

The next morning, Olivia went to work to find her team sitting around the conference table.

"What?" She said at the look they gave her. "Anything new?"

"Nope." Quinn said, sighing.

"I don't do this often, so don't think that this is going to be a normal occurrence…" She sat down at the table and sighed. "Raise your hand if you think that we should continue on this case."

Nobody raised their hand, except for Huck, who halfway raised his. "I don't care."

"Okay then. We will drop it."

Abbey let out a sigh of relief, leaning back in her chair.

" _But_ , this is only because we are grasping at straws. I don't know what we can even do for him anymore, while staying in our lane. I'll go make a phone call." She rose to go to her office.

"What do we work on now?"

"Now we need new clients. Scour the news for anybody in a crisis we can help. I have an event tonight that should be crawling with clients. But don't think this is a mini-vacation. I want a new paying client by the end of the week."

"Give it until Friday for someone to have murdered their father over the Thanksgivings turkey. We are on it."

"Good thinking. Hop on it."

After making a very humble phone call to Hollis Doyle's office, Olivia flipped through the invite list for the gala that night. She made notes on each one of the invitees, until she found her name.

 _Olivia Pope, Olivia Pope & Associates. +1_

Shit. She had completely forgotten about inviting Fitz. She was sure that he was still hurt about the whole situation with Karen. She wanted to move past it, but he was mad at her, so it was his move to reach out to her. Nonetheless, she owed him the event. She pulled out her phone to text him.

 **Olivia** : _If you still want to go, the gala starts at 7._

She put her phone back in her bag, but it buzzed before she could make it that far.

 **Fitz:** _I will be there_.

/

"Wow, I feel weird, drinking wine, in front of you. While you aren't." Abbey smiled as she took a sip from her glass."

"I'm not kidding when I say don't touch my wine cabinet." Olivia rolled her eyes. Alex was finishing her breast feeding for the evening. "Don't make me mark where the bottles are."

"I would never risk Alex." Abbey smiled. "It was nice to have some sort of a girls' night with you. However sober."

"Some things change."

"Speaking of change, you should do so. He should be here in fifteen minutes."

Olivia burped Alex over her shoulder before handing her off to Abbey. She disappeared into her bedroom to emerge seamlessly into her evening gown. It was off the shoulder, long sleeved black lace along the top. The necking was low, but she offset it with a choker. At her waist, the dress settled down into a deep purple velvet hugging her hips and thighs before subtly trumpeting out.

"There is no way you won't clean up clients in that."

"Thank you." Olivia sat back down, cautiously, on the couch.

"I'm sorry about raising such a stench about Doyle."

"I understand."

"No, I mean it. It wasn't fair to put me and my past with Chip over our work."

"We all have our past."

"I can't promise, but I can try to—"

There was a knock at her door.

"I forgive you." Olivia rose swiftly to get the door. "And I wouldn't hold it against you—ever."

She answered the door to find a devastatingly handsome Fitz in a tux.

"Hi." He reached in to kiss her lips, but she offered him her cheek, conscious of Abbey.

"Hi." She opened the door wider to let him in. "Let me just say goodnight to Alex." She kissed Alex goodbye, who was already drifting away in Abbey's arms.

"How are you, Abbey?"

"Hey, Dr. Grant." Abbey acknowledged, rocking Alex in her arms.

"So you know where the—"

"I've got it." Abbey cut her off. "I know how to take care of this one."

"Thank you for watching her." Olivia said, again, before exiting with Fitz.

"I thought the nanny would be watching her tonight." Fitz said as he guided her to his car.

"Abbey offered, and we kind of have a debt system going." She said as he helped her into his car.

Once he was pulling out into the road, they knew they had to address the elephant in the room.

"Look, about Karen." Olivia started, staring at the road ahead. "I don't want to apologize about what I did. I just wanted to make sure she was safe. But I do want to apologize for infringing on anything between you and Mellie. I didn't mean to intrude. I understand that you two are her parents, and I didn't mean to offend in any way."

Fitz was silent for a second, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Fitz…" She begged softly. "I can't go into tonight with us mad at each other."

He held his hand across the console for her to place her hand lightly atop.

"I could never stay mad at you… I know now why you did what you did. But in the future, I want you to tell me about these things."

"Understood."

"I just didn't like feeling left out of the loop. I know I was taking my anger on Karen out on you, but I didn't like walking in and seeing you and Mellie talking like that… About my daughter."

"I swear, she walked in not five minutes before you."

"I know. I talked to her. I made it clear that your workplace was not one to freely go in and out of."

"Thank you." Olivia said, squeezing his hand. "So we are good?"

"Yes. We are always good… I love you." He brought her hand to his lips in a brief kiss. "So tell me about this gala."

"It's for my client, Rosalyn LaMeire. It's a fundraiser for autism research—she runs a non-profit."

"And she is your client, because…?"

"Nope. Can't say." Olivia smirked. "I thought it was going to be a quick show-your-face-then-bounce deal, but we are hungry for new clients. I need to network and mingle as much as possible."

"You dropped Doyle?"

"This morning."

"Then let's do this."

Fitz handed the key to the valet and walked around to help Olivia out of the car.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you this earlier…" Fitz let his hand feel freely along her waist as she stepped out of his car. "But you look incredibly gorgeous."

"Thank you." Olivia blushed, hooking her hand onto the crook of his arm. "But behave yourself. This is a business function."

"Oh, I will." Fitz winked.

An event photographer snapped their picture before letting them walk in.

"The last time I was with you at an event like this, I was your friend…"

"Are you asking if you have been officially upgraded?" Olivia teased.

"I don't want to introduce you as something you aren't comfortable with."

"I don't fuck friends." Olivia whispered, laughing at his reaction. "Let's get this over with."

Throughout the night, Fitz followed her lead, refilling her champagne flute whenever she finished it. A couple of speakers, including Olivia's client, spoke on the foundation.

"Olivia Pope." A smooth voice came from behind where they were standing.

Olivia and Fitz turned to see Marcus Walker strolling towards them.

"Mr. Walker." Olivia shook his hand and turned to Fitz. "This is Marcus Walker. He was on the ticket for DC's mayoral election this year."

"Fitz Grant. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. A mayoral election I didn't win, thanks to you." He said with a sense of humor. He was handsome, an average height. He had a sharp look about him. Like he was already a step ahead of the room.

"All is fair in love and politics." Olivia smiled.

"Next time, I'm going to be smart enough to hire you first."

"I would recommend that." Olivia laughed. "Are you still at the ACLU?"

"Yeah, they couldn't get rid of me so easily."

"Ah, well it's very important work over there."

"All of that sentimentality wears off after the honeymoon." He winked.

"If you ever want to do take a crack at the public office again, you know where my office is."

"Will do." He shook Fitz's hand again. "Excuse me, I should go. It was nice to see you."

"Who was that?"

"Marcus Walker. He's a young activist from Howard. I was hired by his competitor to help with his campaign for DC Mayor. Walker is a smart guy. He will land in public office soon." Olivia set her flute down on the table. "I think two hours is a long enough time to show my face. Don't you?"

"Are you ready to go?"

"After I get a dance with you." She smiled. "You have allowed the right amount of champagne to hit my system."

"Noted." Fitz took her hand and led her to the dancefloor.

"I meant to ask you this at the state dinner, but how are you such a good dancer?" Olivia asked as he twirled her around without skipping a beat.

"Why is it that girls are always surprised when a guy can dance?"

"You have a point."

"Mellie made me take lessons before our wedding."

"Hmmm, I should thank her."

"She would love that." He chuckled.

Olivia allowed him to pull her closer. She wished that the ballroom wasn't filled with some of DC's wealthiest business people and politicians. His arm around her waist and his deep voice humming along felt like home. When the song ended, Fitz went to go get their coats while Olivia said goodbye to a few people.

"DC is one puny town." She heard behind her with a coated southern accent.

"Hollis." She turned to face him. She could tell right off of the bat, that it had been a long night of drinking from him. He no doubt had dropped a couple of hundred thousand that night for the charity.

"I must say, that I still have some things to say to you, that I didn't this morning."

"I don't think that is the smart idea, I was heading out—"

"Nope, you entitled litt—"

"Goodbye Hollis." Olivia tried to walk past him, but he blocked her path. "I mean it."

He towered over her with his 6'2" frame. "When I say we talk, we talk."

Olivia sighed. "If you don't let me by in the next five seconds, I will let out a scream so loud that will do more harm than I did good for your company."

"You are so damn self-righteous."

"And you like to convince yourself that you are completely blameless in everything. Anyone who doesn't bend to your path is worthless, right? While I am genuinely sorry that we couldn't finish our business, me ever talking to you again is unnecessary. Furthermore, you blocking my path after me asking you to move is harassment, so I recommend you step back."

Hollis didn't move for a second, and Olivia looked for another plan of escape without making a scene.

"Is everything okay?" Fitz asked as he returned with their coats. He was about the same height as Hollis, and Olivia was grateful for his presence. "Ready to go?"

"Yes." She kept her steely gaze on Hollis as he stepped back, allowing her to pass. Fitz helped her into her coat. They began to walk away. Fitz put a hand against her back. "Thank you." She whispered.

"What was that about?"

"He was a little drunk."

"Did he touch you back there?"

"No, but it wasn't a great interaction."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not." Olivia smiled, slipping her hand into his once they were in the car. When he pulled into her apartment building, Olivia invited him upstairs. It was the champagne, but it was also how good he looked in his tuxedo. She said goodbye to Abbey as she went to check on Alex.

Olivia pulled the blanket back down over her toes as Alex was fast asleep. She didn't hear Fitz enter behind her, but she felt his hand roam long her ass.

"Did I tell you," he whispered, his other hand somewhere along her waist. "How good you looked tonight?"

"You did." Olivia smiled and tilted her head so he could kiss her neck. His hands were now lightly tracing along her body, leaving warm chills in their place. "But you have yet to show me."

She felt him chuckle against her shoulder and it made her knees week. He took her hand and led her out of the nursery. She kissed him playfully as he backed her out of the room and into her living room.

"I should take this off." She said as she pushed him to sit on the couch. "Because I have to return it tomorrow."

"Good idea." He smirked. She sat on his lap as he unzipped the material. He did it tortuously slow, kissing down her shoulder blades.

"I'll be right back." Olivia said as she went into her bedroom to hang up the dress. She returned topless in her underwear. She pulled the blanket from the couch around her shoulders and straddled him. He pulled her mouth to his, sucking her bottom lip between his teeth.

"I love you so much, Livvie." Fitz groaned as he palmed her breast in his hand. The feeling of his fingers teasing her sensitive nipple made her throw her head back and moan. He knew every trick and button to push on her. "You have had a rough week." He said as he flipped her around so that she was lying on the couch and he was between her legs.

"I think we all have." She was breathless as he untied his bowtie and the top buttons on his shirt. His hand went between her legs and pushed her panties aside. He pumped two fingers into her, making her brow crinkle and her mouth fall open.

"You like that?" He murmured as he curled his fingers to stroke her walls.

"Fu—yes." Olivia said as she threw her head back against the cushion. He kissed from her chin down to between her breasts, keeping his hand at a steady pace. His soft tongue around her nipple made her call out in pleasure. He hooked her legs over his shoulders and looked at her pussy ready for him. She was so wet from him as he began to lick along her folds.

" _Yes_ , okay. Yes." She mumbled as he hit her spots.

"I…" Fitz stroked his fingers in and out with each word. "Fucking… Love… You." He released her clit from his mouth with a pop, causing her to orgasm.

"Come here," murmured as she pulled him up to her by the collar of his shirt. She kissed him languidly as her fingers unfastened the buttons on his tuxedo shirt. Fitz pulled away to her dismay, but he was removing his pants. His cock sprang from his boxers, and Olivia's eyes twinkled at the sight of it. He tried to climb on top of her, but she pushed him back to sitting on the couch.

"I'm going to do the work now. Just sit back and enjoy." Olivia straddled him, kissing him aggressively and stroking his dick in her hands. He was so receptive, moaning against her lips. She teased her clit with his tip, until he was begging her to lower herself on him. She found a pace that he knew wasn't going to let him last long as she bounced up and down.

"Fuck, you feel so good." Fitz mumbled as he palmed her breast in his hand. She came for the second time, unable to control the noise she made. Fitz gripped her waist, lifting his hips up to pound roughly into her. Olivia moved a damp curl from his forehead as he came, gripping her waist with white knuckles and sighing in pleasure.

Olivia pulled herself off of him and sat next to him on the couch. He laughed, patting her thigh. "Thank you for inviting me tonight."

"You are welcome." Olivia laughed, pulling his tuxedo shirt around her body. "Come on, let's go to bed." She stood up, pulling him up with her. "Let me just check on Alex again."

When she returned to her bedroom, Fitz was sitting in her bed, checking his phone.

"Thank you in advance." She shed his shirt and found her pajamas. "For making me so sore tomorrow."

"Come here." He pulled the covers back for her and helped her settle in his arms. He kissed along her cheekbone, and she snaked a leg between his. After a moment of silence, he whispered, "Do you love me?"

"What?" Olivia leaned back out of his arms.

"Do you love me? Are you in love with me?" Fitz asked again. His voice was calm.

"Why are you asking me this? Right now?" Olivia pushed away from him so that she could see his face. "What is up?"

"I always tell you I love you. And I do love you. But you never say it back."

Olivia propped herself up on her elbow and her brow crinkled.

"Liv, we have known each other for almost a year."

"We haven't _been together_ that long…" Olivia ran a hand up his arm. "What does that have to do with it?"

"Nothing…" Fitz trailed off.

"Would different answers change anything?" Olivia asked, tilting her head.

"I don't know."

"Let's just get some sleep." Olivia flipped the lights off and pulled the covers back around her. Fitz stayed in his position for a couple seconds before gravitating towards her, pulling her into a spooning position.

/

The next morning, Olivia was getting dressed for work. She left Fitz asleep in the bed, as she got ready. Fitz found her in the bathroom, applying eyeshadow.

"Good morning." He kissed her shoulder.

"Good morning." She replied, finishing her eye and starting on the mascara. "Do you want coffee? Alice arrived early, and I think she might have a pot brewing out there."

"I'm good, thanks." He said, watching her do her makeup. "Have you decided on your Thanksgivings Day plans yet?"

"No, I haven't had time to think about it yet." Olivia said.

"Well, its tomorrow." He put his hands on her hips and rested his chin on her shoulder "Spend it with me."

Olivia was silent, looking at him in the mirror. "Are you sure Mellie would want me there?"

"Mellie doesn't hate you."

"She doesn't like me around Karen." Olivia said, defensively. "And I understand where she is coming from."

"That is not true." Fitz wrapped his arms more fully around her, squeezing her against his chest. He noticed how tense she was. She finished her mascara and put the tube back in her makeup bag. She pushed him back a little bit so that she could turn around in his arms. She put her hands on his chest and looked at his early morning hair sticking up in all directions. She was sure that he was the most beautiful at this time. His brow was crinkled, waiting for her to respond. His blue eyes were searching hers.

"I don't think that given what transpired last weekend, it would be smart…" Olivia ran her hands up and down his biceps. "Thanksgiving Day is something you spend with your family, and I don't want to cause any trouble."

"You are a part of this family," Fitz said earnestly. "And you belong. If Mellie has a problem with that, then she will have to deal with it. You are a very important part of my life."

"I don't think that Thanksgivings is the place to—"

Fitz cut her off with a soft kiss. She didn't react at first, letting him kiss her lips, his sliding around to her ass, making it impossible for her to resist. She gave in, parting her lips for him and bringing her hands to run through his hair.

"Please, Livvie." He asked again, kissing her nose. "Karen and Jerry would really like for you to be there."

"Okay." Olivia gave in. "What time?"

"Six."

"Okay." Olivia moved past him. "You are making me late for work. I'll see you tomorrow."

 **THANKSGIVINGS DAY**

"You don't really like _bring your daughter to work day_ , do you?" Olivia bounced Alex on her lap. Alex was on a whole other level today. She wished that her nanny was available to watch her, but she knew she couldn't ask her to work Thanksgivings Day. "I am not taking you to company, unless you get yourself together."

She checked her watch. It was 4:15. She knew her team wouldn't go home, unless she dismissed them. She put Alex on her hip and walked out into the conference room.

"Here. Let me try." Harrison reached his arms out for Alex.

"No, you don't have to. She'll tire herself out in a couple of minutes."

"You just don't want her to prove that she likes me more." Harrison winked as he took her anyways, bouncing her on his knee.

"I was actually coming to tell you guys to go home. We don't have any business that trumps the holidays."

"Think again." Huck said as they heard a frantic doorbell ring from the front of the office.

"Abbey." Olivia nodded for her to go get it.

Abbey rose to walk down the long hallway of their office to get the door. Harrison went and put Alex down in her crib. Thankfully, Alex had quieted to soft sobs, instead of her earlier wails.

"Are you Olivia Pope?" A frantic woman appeared at the door. She was a little bit older than middle aged. She had graying blonde hair and was very thin, even through her thick winter coat.

"No, but this is her office. How may I help you?" Abbey said.

"I need to speak with her. This is urgent. Is she here?" Her eyes darted past the

"Follow me." Abbey let her in, taking her coat. It was clear that this woman came from some kind of money. She had expensive jewelry and a designer bag. Yet she was so emotionally unnerved.

"I'm Olivia Pope." Olivia extended her hand. "Take a seat. Tell us how we can help you."

"It is my son." She held her phone out with a picture of a young man in army fatigues. "I think he is going to do something awful today."

/

"Olivia is coming tonight, right?" Karen asked, pulling a green bean casserole out of the oven.

"Yeah, she'll be here in time for dinner." Fitz cleared some counter space for her to set it down. "Could you run to the store and pick some things up?"

"Of course." Karen said, excited that she could use her car, since she was grounded.

"An hour, tops. And I want a receipt." He reluctantly held out his credit card and her car keys. "I'll text you the list."

"Thanks, Dad."

/

"You came to us, instead of the police. Why?"

"He is a good person. I don't want to see him jailed. The war just messed with his mind a little. He came back angry and quiet. But he's still my little boy. Trevor still means well. I just want to stop whatever he is up to."

"Has he seen a doctor or psychiatrist since he came back? Anyone to treat him for his PTSD?"

"No… He wouldn't allow it." Farrah Goodson took the cup of tea from Quinn. "Thank you."

"So recount the last time you saw him."

"This morning. I didn't want to pressure him with a large Thanksgivings meal. I told him we could go out to eat tonight. He told me not to waste my time, and I asked him _why_? Then he kissed my forehead and said that he had a mission to do, and I should stay home. I asked him what he was talking about, but all he told me was that no matter what was said about him, that he loved me and was thankful for me."

"Huck, track any orders he has made online or with his credit card. Quinn, track his cellphone." Olivia nodded for them to retreat to their offices to get to work. "Now… Mrs. Goodson. What do you think he is capable of? I know that this isn't an easy question, but if the worst things came true, what are we working with here?"

"I don't know." Tears sprung to her eyes as she bowed her head. "He has seen such awful things overseas, I just don't know who he is anymore."

Olivia put her hand over the mothers and was silent for a moment. "We will find him for you."

"Thank you."

"But for now, it is best for you to go home. Wait for him there, in case he comes home. We will be in touch." Olivia handed her a tissue, patiently waiting for her to compose herself.

"Okay. Please find him and bring him home for me."

Olivia walked her out, and by the time she returned to the conference room, Abbey was already pinning images to the glass wall.

"What do we have?"

"Trevor Goodson. Twenty nine year old marine. He has served on two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Was engaged to a Melissa Pratt back in 2011, but the engagement was broken off after he was deployed again. He returned in September with multiple medals of honor, and has been unemployed ever since. His mother, Farrah Goodson is the late wife of a former investment banker, George Goodson. He died of a heart attack last May, leaving his sizable fortune to her hands."

"Nice payday for us." Harrison commented with a smirk.

"Anyways, he has been living with her since his return." Abbey finished, pinning the final photo.

"Bad news." Quinn entered with a laptop in tow. "He left his phone at home, leaving him untraceable from that standpoint."

"Even worse news." Huck entered with his laptop. "He has made many small purchases over the past few weeks. He has purchased metals from a hardware store, which can be fashioned into a vest. He purchased nitro-methane, a common gas for bombs."

"His cellphone tracks did leave outliers at a pool store and hardware store in Southern Virginia." Quinn typed at her computer.

"Shit… So if he is planning something, it is not going to be pretty."

"But where is he now? No cell phone, dangerous bomb materials…" Abbey paced back and forth.

"Wait…" Huck held up a hand. "He just swiped his card at a bar at a small dive bar downtown."

"There are bars open on Thanksgivings?" Harrison asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Is there any evidence of him being radicalized by any organization?"

"No, there is nothing in his emails or browser history." Huck typed seamlessly into his keyboard.

"Well, there is only one way to go get him." Harrison reached for his coat.

"Harrison—no." Olivia stood up. "He is armed and dangerous. I'm not going to let you go near an active bomb."

"You are talking to the best negotiator in the city. I can talk a Patriots fan into rooting for the Giants. I've got this."

"No you don't." Olivia stepped in front of him.

"Odds are that he's not going to go through with it. He is at a bar. He's already second guessing his plan. If he was serious, then it would have already gone off."

"We need to call the FBI and Department of Homeland Security."

"But that isn't in the interest of our client." Harrison raised his eyebrow, wrapping a scarf around his neck. "I will let you know if I need back up. If we come at him with sirens and lights, he'll probably freak out and detonate. I have got this."

"Harrison…"

"Gladiators. You shouldn't expect any less."

/

Harrison walked into the nearly deserted bar. There was Trevor sitting at the far end of the oak top bar. He had an almost empty beer in front of him, and the way that his head was slumped forward, Harrison could tell it wasn't his first. He sent a text, saying that he found him.

"Hey, let me get a whiskey on the rocks." Harrison ordered, taking a seat two stools from him. He looked him up and down as the bartender poured him a drink. He was tall. He could no doubt whoop anybody's ass in a fight. He was wearing a coat, even in the warm bar. He looked at his torso. It was thicker than what the pictures showed. It occurred to Harrison that he was wearing the bomb on him in that moment. Harrison tried not to let his hands shake as he took a sip.

"No plans today either, huh?" Harrison asked, turning to Trevor. The surly man lifted his eyes to his and vaguely nodded. "I hate holidays that force people to pay attention to their family. I mean, take it from a person who never really had family—aside from whatever orphanage I was thrown in. It just seems stupid that they would have to set aside days of the year for everybody to get together."

"Hmph." He mumbled, motioning for the bartender to top him off.

"I see your tags, there. I must salute you." Harrison tried, somewhat regretting bringing up his military past. "I have the utmost respect for everything you have done for this country."

"That is always an easy answer." Trevor said with a sigh, leaning back and looking at Harrison. "For someone who has no fucking clue what they are talking about."

"Sorry, man." Harrison held his hands up. "I didn't mean any disrespect. My brother served in Kosovo. I just support your service to our country."

"I never asked."

Harrison was silent for a moment, figuring that it was time to put his cards on the deck. The bulge around Trevor's waist was making him uncomfortable, and he came here with a mission to accomplish. "Look, Trevor. I know what is on you right now. I also know what you went through. When my brother came back from overseas, it was a whole other story. I imagine he went through the same things you are right now. But we got him help, just like we can get you help. You don't have to do this."

"There always seems like a choice for the outsider." Trevor said, more to himself.

"I could have called the police." Harrison said, after the bartender disappeared around back for a small task. "I could have had you safely carted out of here and banned to a super max prison somewhere. Instead, I didn't. Because I believe that you have the potential to make a good choice."

"I have nothing to live for, and nothing to defend."

"Think of your mother." Harrison pleaded. "She does not deserve to be dragged into the media after this. She won't be able to live in peace after the country harasses her for raising a terrorist."

"She will be taken care of."

"But you won't be able to ensure that." Harrison sneak texted Olivia, saying that he wasn't getting anywhere. He would need backup, and not the kind OPA could promise.

Tears were now clouding Trevor's vision. "I don't want this. I never have. But when you find yourself in a fucking desert with a child's life taken at the pull of your fore finger… You just… Look at life a little differently."

"That doesn't define you. You can get help."

"Just like your brother?"

"My brother committed suicide. You are luckier than you think." Harrison whispered.

"We both know you don't have a brother. We both know that was a cheap ploy to get me to back down."

Harrison was stunned for a moment. He didn't respond, but chose to drain his drink.

"And it is noble what you are trying to do. I get it. But the darkness in all of us wins eventually."

Police sirens turned from faint imagination to a roaring scream outside of the building.

"I don't—please don't do this." Harrison watched as the man unbuckled his coat. "I can help you. I will make sure that you face no consequences."

"I would tell you to run, but you can't get away in time." He removed his coat to reveal an intensely wired bomb snaking around his torso.

" _Please_." Harrison begged as he began to back away.

/

Fitz stepped outside to call Olivia again. He hadn't heard from her all day. He knew that she was at work, but she promised to leave by 5 to make it through the traffic. It was now 6:30, and they were going to start eating in a few minutes.

Nothing. Her voicemail came on in all of its familiarity.

"Dad?" Jerry peaked his head in the door. "We are starting."

"I'll be right there." He said, typing out another text.

 _ **Fitz:**_ _We are eating now. Where are you?_

He sighed as he looked at the long string of messages he sent throughout the past thirty minutes. He knew that she didn't want to come in the first place, but at least she could have let him know. Now he felt like an idiot in front of his family. He shook his head, and told himself to not think about it. He wasn't going to let is disappointment in her ruin his family's holiday.

"Alright, let's eat." He said as he joined everybody in the dining room.

"Where is Liv?" Karen asked.

"She is stuck in traffic." Fitz said, patting her shoulder. "But she told us to go ahead and start eating without her."

/

Olivia tried to stop the ringing in her ears. She was standing, _no_ , she was sitting. Her phone was in her hand. She tried to process the words that just came through the receiver.

"The bomb was detonated, ma'am." The voice of the police lieutenant was in her ear. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I have to hang up, so we can go search the scene."

Olivia tried to find the words to ask. "Is Harrison dead?" But instead, her ears rang and the line went dead.

She turned the TV on. Helicopter footage showed a building demolished with the surrounding buildings heavily damaged. The headline read BREAKING: _BOMB DETONATED DOWNTOWN_.

"What do you need?" Huck asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. He was solemn, but still emotionless.

Olivia rose, her mind clearing and her adrenaline setting in. "I need you to watch Alex for me. I need to go to the scene."

"Okay." He nodded and retreated into her office.

"I'm going too." Abbey rose, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"No, I need you to stay here. Hold down any calls or press we get surrounding this incident. Quinn, come with me."

/

"Karen, put your phone up at the table." Fitz admonished.

"Yeah, one sec."

" _Karen_."

"Sorry, sorry." Karen exited the apps she had open. "Apparently a bomb just went off downtown."

"That isn't dinner table talk," Mellie reprimanded. "Especially on Thanksgivings."

"My bad." Karen handed her phone over to Fitz who went to put it in the kitchen. He used that opportunity to check his own phone. Still no messages. He checked out the bomb that detonated downtown. It was nowhere near her office or apartment. As far as he was concerned, she had no reason to be in that part of the town.

"Is it too early to bring out the pies?" He asked as he pulled out two of the pies to the dinner table.

/

"Who is in charge here?" Olivia demanded as she walked up to the first police officer at the scene. They had a six block radius barricaded off.

"Ma'am, this is an active crime scene, I'm going to have to ask you to step back."

"I have valuable information regarding this crime scene, as well as a knowledge of who was inside of the building. Go tell your boss that. Or you can just tell him that my name is Olivia Pope."

The officer was stunned for a moment, as he looked at the woman in front of him. "One moment. Please step back."

"Thank you." Olivia said with an edgier tone than she meant. She paced back and forth against the barricade. She realized that she had yet to contact his mother. She dialed her number as she waited. There was no response. _She probably already heard._ Olivia muttered to herself.

"Ms. Pope." The police turner came forth. "It doesn't surprise me that you are tangled up in this.

"Please, Chief Turner." Olivia mumbled. She had been at odds with this man before—a lot actually—through defending people against the law. Now, she could really have used his manners. "Can we speak privately?"

He led her to their makeshift camp. "I have the information on the bomber. His name is Trevor Goodson. He suffered from PTSD." He handed him her files. "His mother came to me hours ago with suspicions that he was up to something. We couldn't stop him in time, but my co-worker Harrison was one of the people in the bar."

He looked at the files. "And his mother?"

"Completely innocent." She promised.

"How do you know?"

"She was who came to my firm with suspicions about him. She wanted to stop him." Chief Turner flipped through some of the files, skimming it. "One of the people killed in this attack is Harrison Wright. He was a co-worker of mine, and was trying to apprehend Mr. Goodson."

The chief stopped and turned to look at her, realizing she just lost a good friend. "You should go home."

"What? No. I can help here."

"Go home, Ms. Pope. We will be in contact with any developments."

Olivia was about to protest, but Quinn out her hand on her arm. "Let them do their job."

Quinn drove her back to the office. When she got there, she sent everybody home, telling them that she would be in contact with any news. It was nearly eight o'clock. Alex was already tired for the night, so she had no problem with falling asleep in Olivia's office. Olivia walked around the office aimlessly. She knew that she should go home, but going home would mean that she would have to go to sleep and who knows what would be waiting for her in her dreams.

Instead, she tried to grapple with the fact that Harrison was gone. She walked into his office. It was just like he was there. Like he could have walked in at any second and asked her what she needed from him. She ran her hand across the smooth wood of his desk.

Her mind couldn't grasp that he was gone. It was like she was telling herself over and over that he died, but she couldn't believe herself.

She went back to her dark office, and pulled out a bottle of wine.

/

"Olivia?" Fitz knocked on her office door, letting himself in. He saw her with a bottle of wine next her. _Great._ She was drinking. It made it even easier for him to be angry with her.

"Fitz…" Olivia gasped as she saw his dark figure in her doorway. "You shouldn't be here."

"I think I should. I think I deserve an explanation." He said with a loaded tone. "I think I deserve to know why you stood me up in front of my family."

"What are you talking about?" Olivia set her wine glass down, looking down at her fingernails. He flicked the light on. She flinched. Her eyes were heavy, not bothering to look up at him.

"I'm talking about how I had to make up excuse after excuse for why you were late, and then absent from my dinner table tonight."

"Fitz, leave."

"I feel like an idiot for taking this long to realize. I mean, you obviously tried to tell me two nights ago, when you refused to tell me you loved me. You aren't in this like I am. I fucking love you. I don't know how else to prove it to you."

"Leave me be, please."

"If that is what you want from me. Did you ever love me? At All?"

"Don't—"

"No, I mean, was I just a lay for you to take an edge off with?"

"I need to be alone right now."

"Then answer me this: Did you feel anything for me?"

Olivia downed the rest of her wine in a giant gulp, wishing she it burned her throat more. She set the glass down on the coffee table like she was in a trance.

"Don't run, Olivia. Look me in the eyes and tell me how you feel."

"Harrison is dead _._ " Olivia said. She didn't show any emotion, just staring blankly across the room.

"What?" He walked over to her kneeling in front of her. "Harrison?"

"The bombing."

"Livvie…" He put her hands over hers in her lap.

She looked past him, as still as a statue. She was a shell of herself, and Fitz wondered if she was going into shock. That and the alcohol was not a good combination.

"Let me take you home."

She was still motionless.

"Livvie." He took her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. "Come here." He pulled her into a hug, standing up with her. She hesitated, before slowly wrapping her arms around him. He noticed Alex was sleeping in her crib, so he went to pick her up. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." She walked around to grab her purse.

He drove her home in her car, because Alex's car seat was there. The drive home was long and quiet. Olivia had her head against the window, watching the city go by with dead eyes. Fitz put Alex down for the night, making sure the baby monitor was on. He brought Olivia a glass of water from her kitchen.

"Drink." He commanded, going into her closet to pull out her pajamas. He noticed how exhausted she looked. Her eyes never raised above halfway, and her shoulders were slumped forward. He peeled her clothes off of her and pulled her night gown over her head.

"Spend the night with me." Olivia whispered. "Please."

"Of course." Fitz kissed her cheek, settling under the sheets with her. She pulled him to spoon her. He circled his arms around her, hugging her close. Even though he could not see her face, he knew that her eyes would not close. He knew that she was not going to get any sleep.

/

Fitz woke up to an empty bed. He tried to orient himself, realizing he was in her bed. He checked the clock. It was eight in the morning. Where was Olivia? He got worried, climbing out of bed. He heard the water coming from the bathroom and a tiny squeal that must have come from Alex. He walked in to see her bathing Alex in a baby bathtub. Olivia was showing clear signs of her previous night. Her eyes were puffy and tired. She had circles under her eyes. But she was freshly showered in a silk robe with her natural hair pulled back.

"Good morning." Fitz smiled as Alex wiggled her feet splashing the water.

"Good morning." Olivia said, letting him kiss her forehead.

"I am sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to miss your Thanksgivings. I was going to be there." Olivia began to wash Alex's hair, massaging shampoo into her tiny curls.

"You don't have to apologize. At all."

"I just wanted to let you know." Olivia whispered. "And I'm sorry for last night. I should never be that drunk, especially around Alex."

Fitz sighed, knowing she was right. But she had her best friend die suddenly. He couldn't be mad at her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." She said, carefully washing the suds out of Alex's hair. She made sure that she was completely clean before pulling her out and wrapping her in a towel. "She enjoys the water so much, I think she might be a swimmer one day."

"Olivia?"

"I'm fine. I will be."

"Do you want to talk about what happened yesterday? I saw the news."

Olivia carried Alex into the bedroom, laying her on the bed and grabbing some baby lotion from the bathroom. She began to moisturize her skin. "We were working for the bomber's mother, trying to stop him. We couldn't. Harrison was trying to stop him."

Fitz sat next to her, rubbing his hand along her knee. "I am so sorry. I know how close he was to you. I remember from the hospital."

"I need to begin preparations for his funeral." Olivia grabbed Alex, who was trying to walk away and planted her back in her lap, massaging coconut oil into her hair. "Their funerals."

"You can take time to grieve."

"This is how I grieve." Olivia said, more to herself. "Don't you have to go to work?"

"I called in today." Fitz said. "Unless, you want space. I don't want to hover."

"You can stay. I just have work to do." Olivia went and pulled out clothes to put Alex in. She dressed her and comped through her hair again. "I have to plan the bomber's funeral first and prepare a statement on behalf of his mother."

"Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, considering Harrison."

"His attack wasn't personal. It is my job."

"I'll go pick up some breakfast. I know your pantry is bare." He said, pulling some of his clothes out of her closet. They ended up leaving a few outfits at each other's places, just because of how many times they spend the night. "Any requests?"

"I'll have whatever you get." Olivia said, already distracted into her work.

He returned to find her scrolling through caskets on her laptop and on the phone. The television was on mute in front of her. BNC was running helicopter footage of the scene with the emboldened caption, _BOMB DETONATED IN DOWNTOWN DC. 7 DEAD. 19 INJURED._

"It is better for your safety if you aren't present at the statement. You can write an open letter, and I will make sure it is distributed… The FBI will take you into questioning. Don't say anything unless a lawyer is present." Olivia looked up to see him with food in his hands. _Thank you_ she mouthed as she listened to her phone. "I don't think it is smart for him to be buried at Arlington. You run the risk of people desecrating his grave. It is better if we do a quiet burial in a small cemetery… Good. I will be in touch."

Fitz set the food on the dining table and held his hand out to Olivia. "Take a break from your work and have a normal breakfast with me."

"Okay." Olivia let him help her up and went to sit across from him at the table. "How was your Thanksgivings dinner yesterday—I mean despite my absence?"

"It was nice. It is nice to have Jerry home. And you should see the tree. It is beautiful."

"When will you decorate it?"

"Sunday. Before Jerry gets on his plane."

Olivia took a bite of a croissant, realizing how hungry she was. "Will you need help?"

Fitz smiled as he took a sip of orange juice. "Yes, we will."

"I am sorry for missing the dinner yesterday. I should have texted you…"

"I don't want to hear it. I'm not going to be mad at you for something you can't help… If anything, I should be apologizing for the things I said last night."

"You were honest."

"I was angry."

"You said some true things."

"Like what?" Fitz raised his eyebrows.

Olivia took a sip of water, collecting her words. "I know that you feel frustrated with me. I want to be honest with you…"

"Go ahead."

"I don't love you." Olivia said, barely above a whisper. "But I care about you."

"Liv…"

"When we agreed to give our relationship a chance, we agreed to take it slow."

"I remember."

Olivia took another sip, and he could tell that she was struggling with how to voice her feelings without hurting him. "I don't have the best track record when it comes to love. My _gut_ , which is always right everywhere else, can't be trusted. I—still need time."

"I am not Jake." Fitz reached across the table to take her hand in his.

"I know that." Olivia sighed, squeezing his hand. "I just need for you to be patient with me. Give me time. Because I really like you, and I want you to be in Alex's and my life."

Fitz looked at her for a prolonged second, while rubbing his thumb along the back of her hand. "I don't think I can help being in love with you, and I wouldn't change it. I can be patient."

"Thank you." They finished eating in silence, and Olivia went back to work. She drafted a press release and worked on planning the funerals. Fitz played with Alex, distracting her so that Olivia could get her work done. She looked up to see Fitz laying on the floor, playing dead while Alex stood over him, tugging his hair and pressing her pudgy fingers along his face. He opened one eye to peak at her before going back to being dead. She squealed, before walking around to his stomach and pouncing on it.

"You are so good with her."

"I've had eighteen years of experience." He smiled, realizing she was watching them play.

"I guess so." Alex abandoned Fitz on the ground to walk over to Olivia.

"She's walking very well now."

"I'm worried she isn't getting enough interaction with other babies. I think I might enroll her in a day care at the start of next year." Olivia scooped her up, kissing her belly.

"I could recommend some to you."

"That would be nice." Olivia said. "Alex, do you want to show Fitz what we were working on?" Alex just smiled back at her. Olivia wagged a finger against her lips, making a sound effect that had Alex laughing. "Your turn." Olivia did it again, until Alex mimicked her, making a mumbling noise herself.

Alex quickly got tired of making the noise and turned to Olivia's computer resting on her other knee. She mashed her fists along the keyboard, making Olivia's press statement turn into a jumble of letters.

"No." Olivia said sternly, pushing her computer away. "No, we don't do that."

Alex got the message, wriggling back to the floor to Fitz. "She understands _no_."

"About as well as a newborn puppy." Olivia joked.

"She's very smart."

"I'm trying to get her to read by 18 months." Olivia winked. "I should go get dressed. I have to make a statement in an hour."

/

"I am here on behalf of the Goodson family. The bomber in yesterday's attack was Trevor Goodson. He was a former Marine, and served three tours overseas. When he returned, he suffered PTSD. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot disclose his motive, but we can say that he intended on detonating the bomb in a more populated area. We can be grateful that his actions were thwarted. His mother, Farrah Goodson is the only immediate family member surviving him. She was instrumental in attempts to stop him, before he caused damage. She offers her condolences to those killed in yesterday's attack and asks for privacy, as she is allowed to grieve and process these events. One of the people killed was my colleague and close friend Harrison Wright." Olivia paused, her eyes drifting to the corner of the podium she was standing behind.

Fitz shifted Alex in his arms, watching from the side. She was falling apart, but nobody could tell. It was eerily quiet, despite the packed lawn and flashing cameras. He was standing next to a monitor from one of the news organizations. Alex, unaware of anything that was happening, leaned out of his arms towards the image of Olivia on the screen.

" _Ma-_ ma." She babbled, trying to touch the image. "Mama." She said louder.

Olivia looked over to the sound of her daughter, and Fitz pulling her arm back and trying to quiet her. She recovered from her minor show of emotion, pulling in a deep breath. "He died a hero, trying to talk down Mr. Goodson. He was a brilliant lawyer, loyal friend, and brother to me. That is the only concrete information we have about those who perished yesterday. I will now turn the podium over to Police Chief Turner. Thank you."

Olivia stepped back from the podium and walked off of the platform. She first went to her team, standing a good distance away from him. He watched her say something to each of them, hug Abbey who was undoubtedly crying, and tell them to go home. Then she walked over to him.

"Did you hear Alex?" He asked, handing her over.

"I did." Olivia smiled for the first time all day. She kissed Alex's cheek who was repeating her new word over and over. "Yes, _mama_ , is right, baby."

"Let's go."

 **THE NEXT DAY: HARRISON'S FUNERAL**

"He hated funerals." Olivia said as her car stalled. They were waiting for everybody to show up to his burial. "He thought they were self-indulgent and stupid. That is why we are just burying him today."

Fitz watched from the passenger seat. She had yet to shed a tear over Harrison, and it concerned him. She had kept herself together for the press and cameras, but he knew that she was dying on the inside. She just refused to express it.

"He was like a brother to me." She continued. "We met in foster care. He was two years older than me, but he got kicked out and placed in juvenile delinquency when he was sixteen."

"Why?"

"He got caught joyriding in the principal's car during school and he pressed charges." Olivia laughed softly, at the memory. "We kept in touch through law school, and it was natural that we worked together… I remember once he convinced me to skip class. I didn't want to, because I knew that our foster parents would kill us, but he promised me he would buy me pizza. I think I was thirteen. Our parents found out, and he was so slick that he got off scotch-free, and I was the one who got grounded." Olivia giggled. Her melodious laughter was a contradiction to the gloominess of the day. "When I started my firm, I had to have him working with me. He was the best. At everything."

Fitz kissed her hand, letting her talk and remember her friend.

"I remember when I was in the hospital room, he thought I was asleep. He was talking to Alex about how she was going to be a Giants fan…" She trailed off. She looked up to see her team arriving to the burial site. "We should get this over with."

Fitz took Alex on his hip and walked out with her. He hung back, letting her talk to her friends.

"Small turnout." Quinn said, when Olivia stepped up to her side. The air was bitingly cold, as everybody stood side by side.

"He didn't have… a family. We were all he had." Olivia whispered.

"I thought his family lived in Fresno. He said that his father met his mother while selling her a used 1972 Volkswagen."

"He made that story up." Olivia laughed a bitter choke. "We met through the foster system."

"Ready, Ma'am?" The funeral worker asked.

Olivia nodded, as he lowered the casket into the ground. Each one of them took turns sprinkling rose petals into the hole. Everybody said goodbye. Everybody had wet eyes. They all turned away and left in their separate ways. Olivia stayed in her place, watching the groundsmen begin to cover his grave with dirt again. Fitz stepped forward and placed a hand on her back. She turned around and melted into him, hugging him closely. For the first time, she sobbed.

Her face was bowed into his chest as she mumbled, "I think I wonder _why_ too much— I want to know why he had to go. We weren't finished yet. I still had so many favors to repay him." She took a deep breath, looking up at him. Her face was streaked with tears. "Why do I attract so much tragedy?"

"Livvie…" He ran a hand along her hair, soothing her.

"No, I'm serious. It isn't normal for stuff like this to happen. I don't know if I can take any more deaths. Who loses their parents, husband, _and_ best friend? I just—" She cried again, bowing her head into his chest.

"Shh, it's okay. Take all of the time you need."

Alex became restless in Fitz's arms, reaching for Olivia. She had no grasp on what was happening, but she reached for Olivia's cheek, touching the wet tear drops coming down them. Fitz handed her his handkerchief so that she could clean her face up. "Sorry, let's go home."

They began to walk towards her car. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a tall figure leaning against it.

"Who is that?" Fitz asked. His hand slid from her shoulder down to her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"I don't know." She said, confused.

"Miss. Pope." The man said. He had a military look about him. A cut jaw, dirty blonde hair neatly combed and bright blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?"

"No. But I need to speak privately with you." He looked directly at Fitz, making Fitz tighten his hand on her shoulder.

"Is it work related? Because my firm is closed for the day."

"No. It is about your father." He said flatly. "And it is highly imperative that we speak on this."

Fitz observed how her body language immediately changed. She tightened her grip on Alex and drew back into him.

"I don't have a father." Olivia said, internally fuming that her father would try to reach out to her again, after their agreement. On today of all days

"We both know that you do." His tone turned as icy as the ground beneath them.

"Fitz…" Olivia turned and handed Alex over to him. "Could you wait in the car for a second?"

"Olivia." He raised his eyebrows at the obviously threatening man in front of them.

"Please. I know what I'm doing. Warm the car up." She handed him her keys, and he nodded, returning to her car and putting Alex in her car seat.

"I told him that I want nothing to do with any of that." Olivia said, once she heard the car engine start. "If this is some message from him, I don't want to hear it. I prefer my life pretending that he and his _organization_ don't exist."

"Your father is dead." Tom said.

"What?"

"I can explain the details in a warmer environment, if you prefer." Tom said, looking down at the snow already covering his shoes. "Or we can do this out here."

Olivia was stunned, trying to steady herself. "Follow me to my apartment."

"Yes ma'am."

Olivia walked past him, climbing into her car. She immediately put the car into drive, pulling into the snow covered cemetery path.

"Olivia… What is going on?"

She was silent, her eyes narrowed to the road in front of her. Carefully signaling her turns and merging into traffic. He noticed her eyes darting to her mirrors more than usual. Then he noticed the black SUV that remained a couple of cars behind her at all times.

"Livvie…"

"I can't—" She stopped herself, realizing that her father was dead. If he was dead, then was Fitz in danger of knowing? What did this mean for this scary organization that could easily kill anyone in their sleep? Who was in charge now? "You don't want to know."

"I think that I do." Fitz persisted, reaching across the console to take her hand in his. "Your hands are shaking."

Olivia pulled her hand out of his and gripped the steering wheel even tighter. "You should go home, when I get back to my apartment."

"Your father is alive." Fitz was relentless. He wasn't going to let her slip away so easily. "Your father, who you told me disappeared. Apparently he's alive?"

"Not anymore." Olivia said bitterly.

Fitz brought a hand to his forehead. "What the fuck is happening here?"

"I don't expect you to understand." Olivia said softly as she pulled into her apartment's parking garage.

"That isn't going to work anymore." Fitz muttered, turning sideways in his seat. Olivia parked her car, and took a deep breath. "Let me in. I want to be a part of these things that make you wake up in a sweat in the middle of the night. I want to be there for you. Let me earn you and show you that I am here to stay. No matter what fucked up shit you throw at me. But pushing me out won't work. Not this time."

Olivia turned to face him head on. "You don't know what you are asking."

"I know that I love you, and I will carry any baggage you guard so closely."

Olivia turned the car off, walking around to pull Alex out of her car seat. "Okay then. But don't say anything."

When they reached her apartment, it was dark like they left it. Olivia flicked the light on to reveal Tom standing with his hands clasping a metal briefcase. Fitz's heart jumped against his ribs when he saw the same eerie man in her apartment. Olivia was strangely calm, reaching her hand to steady him. "It's okay." She handed Alex over to him. "Can you go put her in the nursery?"

Once he disappeared into Alex's nursery, Tom stepped forward. "I think that our conversation is best held privately."

"Whatever you say to me can be said to him." Olivia said, calmly taking a seat on his couch.

"Ma'am, I have orders."

"From my father?" He was silent, giving her the answer she knew was correct. "Have a seat."

He seemed incredibly uncomfortable as he sat in the chair opposite from her. Fitz returned and sat next to her on the couch, putting his hand quietly on the small of her back. Even though she seemed calm, he could feel the anxiety radiating off of her.

"You are familiar with your father's organization."

"Yes."

"How many agents have you knowingly been in contact with?"

"Just Jacob Ballard."

Fitz raised his eyebrows when she said his name. Jake was an agent? What even is an agent?"

"We were running an operation on Trevor Goodson. We had position to prevent the attack. We has an op-station set up in a backroom of the bar. Your father was there personally, ensuring that it went without a hitch. We didn't plan on your firm's interference. Your father and three agents were present when the bomb detonated. We had no survivors."

Fitz kept his confusion to himself. He didn't know that Olivia's father was even alive, much less apparently the head of some intelligence organization. Much less that her ex-husband worked for him.

"Command had plans in place in case he was killed. He was always prepared for this. He named you as his successor."

"Me?" Olivia raised her eyebrows. "I don't have any interest—"

"He wanted you to inherit B613. With that you inherit all of the intelligence on previous and current operations. You are now Command. 218 agents in 24 countries answer to you."

Olivia was silent, letting it set in. Fitz thought she was going to throw up or pass out, but she just kept her eyes level with Tom's.

"What do I need to do?"

Tom opened the briefcase, sliding a cellphone across the table. "This is your encrypted cell phone. Not the FBI, CIA, or any international intelligence agencies can penetrate our network." He pulled out a heavy duty tablet system and tapped into it. He held it out to her. "Say your full name."

"Olivia Carolyn Pope."

"Fingerprint."

She placed her fingers on the screen.

"Eye scan." He scanned her eyes. Fitz watched her slightly flinch as the blue laser swept across her face. Tom typed into the tablet. He turned it around to reveal a video. Olivia's father appeared on the screen. Fitz felt her body tense up as she focused on the video.

"Hello, Olivia. I'm sure that by now you are in a state of shock. With our previous conversation, I was not able to fully explain how B613 works. You have a lot of catching up to do. We are a counter intelligence agency operating outside of the jurisdiction of the three branches of government. We have unchecked power. We are sovereign. It is our duty to protect the Republic from any threats—domestic or foreign—no matter what means. You are now a slave to your country. You are now a queen to your people. An agent will inform you of everything you need to know in order to fill my shoes. This is what power looks like. You now have more power than the president himself. But you must use it wisely. I did not spend my lifetime building an organization from the ground up, just to have it crumble after my death. You are the only one who I trust to carry on. You are made in my image. Now, goodbye, Olivia. Even though I wasn't in your life, you have made me proud. Don't disappoint me now."

The video went blank, and Olivia kept staring at the screen. Fitz squeezed her hand, pulling her out of her trance.

"You can go now." She said to Tom with authority in her voice.

"I still need to brief you about our oper—"

"Am I not Command?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Then you follow my orders. Go home. Tell everybody else to stand by on all operations."

"Roger that." He stood up, leaving a stack of files on her coffee table. "There will be two agents outside of your building watching guard." Fitz watched him leave the apartment. The second the door was shut, Fitz turned to Olivia.

"Olivia, are you okay?"

She didn't respond, her eyes blankly staring at the files on the table. She was distant, like her mind had taken a break and she was just a shell of herself.

"Olivia?" He brought his hand to her face, softly turning her to face him.

"I'm fine." She pulled back and reached across the table. She pulled the first file into her lap. He watched as she flipped through the pages. "You have work in an hour."

"I can call in."

"If you keep calling in, they are going to fire you." She touched his cheek with her hand. "I'm fine."

He looked hesitant, but she gave him a look telling him she needed to be alone. "Okay." Fitz pecked her lips, "I will see you later."

/

He didn't expect Olivia to come. He wouldn't be mad if she didn't. With the week she had, he was completely understanding of why she would stay home. Yet, she showed up on Sunday, wearing a cream turtleneck and dark jeans. She looked beautiful, her hair pulled back into a low curly ponytail. Alex had her hair pulled into two puffs and was playing with one of her earrings.

"Livvie." He smiled when he saw her. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." She stepped out of the cold and kissed him chastely. "I hope I'm not late. I hate driving in the snow."

"You are just in time. We just pulled the boxes out of the attic."

"Perfect." Olivia handed Alex over to him and took off her coat.

"Hey," He took her coat, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine." She went to walk past him.

"Liv…" He put his hand on her stomach, stopping her.

"You wanted me to let you in. I did. You saw what I have to deal with. Now you get to see me being fine. I don't want to talk about it. I want to hang some ornaments."

"Okay." He handed Alex back over to her. "I can do that."

"Liv!" Karen came down the hallway practically sprinting. She pulled her in for a hug that almost knocked her over. "I heard about what happened, and I am so sorry."

"Thank you." Olivia hugged her tightly. "That means a lot."

"Do you want hot chocolate?" Karen asked.

"I would love some." Olivia felt the stress of her week dissolving off of her shoulders.

"I'll go get it." Fitz kissed her temple. "You guys start untangling the lights."

"I just want to thank you, again, in person for helping me last Saturday."

"What?" Olivia helped Alex out of her coat.

"For driving me home."

"Oh, right." A week ago seemed likes months ago. "You are welcome. I am glad that you came clean to your parents.

"I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

"I'm a big girl. I can handle myself." Olivia winked as she set Alex on the ground to emphatically tangle herself in amess of lights. "Where is Jerry?"

"He is finishing up packing in his room."

"Done packing. Ready to help." He said as he came down the stairs. "Hi, Olivia."

"Hey Jerry."

Fitz brought out the hot chocolate and everybody got to work. They talked about Jerry's college life and Karen's spring musical auditions. Olivia helped Karen with her French, preparing her for her oral presentation final. Within a couple of hours, the tree was decorated with ornaments and lights, and everybody was full of hot chocolate and cookies.

"I should be heading back to Mom's to say goodbye. My flight leaves in two hours."

"Alright. Finish those finals strong. I'll see you in a couple of weeks."

"Thanks."

"I'm driving." Karen grabbed Jerry's keys.

"No you aren't." Fitz took the keys from her hands and handed them back to Jerry.

"But—"

"It's snowing again, and Jerry being home doesn't mean you aren't still grounded. Drive safe."

Fitz watched his kids walk out of the front door. When he saw their car pull away, he turned back towards Olivia standing by the tree. She was bouncing Alex in her arms and showing her some ornaments. She talked in her high pitched baby voice as she explained each one. Fitz came up behind her, resting his hands on her hips and kissing her shoulder

"It is incredibly attractive when you are a strict father." She smirked, leaning back against him.

"And you are incredibly attractive whenever Alex is in your arms."

"I, uh, think we did a good job with this tree." Olivia tried to keep a conversation as he began to kiss along her neck.

"It's a good tree." He mumbled, his hands roaming around to her stomach.

"Fitz…"

"Hmmm?"

"I have a fully dependent human in my arms."

"Right." He pulled back some, still keeping his hands possessively on her waist. "We can fix that."

"I'll grab her playpen."

"I'll grab some wine."

"None for me. I still have to feed tonight."

"Okay." He backed away, letting her go get Alex's playpen. She set it up in the corner of the room, making sure she had ample toys in there to occupy her.

He pulled her down to the couch, throwing her legs over his lap. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?"

"Five times." Olivia blushed as he ran his thumb over her lips.

"So this would be the sixth?"

"Mhmm."

He brushed his lips against hers, barely kissing her and giving her just enough tease. She couldn't take it as she pulled his mouth back to hers by her hand on the back of his neck. She was edging him on as her hands roamed along his abs and up to the hair at the nape of his neck.

They slowly evolved into her laying on the couch and him kissing along her neck. His cold hand slid under her shirt making her gasp and softly bite his lip. They were so deeply into each other that they almost didn't hear the front door open. They whipped their heads to see Jerry entering back into the house.

"Oh, god. I'm not looking." He blushed and turned his head away, keeping his power walk. "I forgot a textbook in my room."

"Shit." Olivia mumbled through her laughter as she immediately pushed off of him and scooted to the other end of the couch. "Your ears are red."

"Shut up." Fitz laughed as they waited for him to return. "Drive safe." He called as Jerry ran out of the front door, still shielding his eyes with his textbook. He waited until the car was pulling away before turning back to Olivia. He pulled her back into his lap, through her fit of laughter.

"I'm sorry, but I need a minute." She barely made out as her laughter turned into an uncontrollable force.

"You thought that was funny, eh?"

"Your ears are still so red." She touched them gingerly with her fingertips. "They only get this red when you are…" She trailed off, wiping a tear from her eye.

"When I am what?" He said with a smirk.

"When I do… this." She aggressively stroked her hand along his crotch, feeling his erection through his khakis. "See? Still red." She giggled.

"And what else?"

"Um… I would show you but I don't think this couch is appropriate."

"Hmmm, but the tree is so nice."

"Then we have a dilemma."

"Give me two minutes." He pushed her off of his lap and disappeared down the hall to his bedroom. He returned with armfuls of blankets and pillows he plopped them down on the floor and disappeared yet again to the back of the house. He returned with logs of wood under his arm.

"My man in shining armor." Olivia laughed as he began to start a fire. He knelt down, lighting a match. Olivia arranged a bed out of the blankets and pillows. Fitz was focused on getting the starter log lit, when he felt her wrap her arms around him from behind with a blanket. She was naked, using her powers of pressing her body against him.

"See? Your ears are getting red." She laughed.

"I'm going to get you back for that." He growled, turning around and tackling Olivia to the pallet of blankets. "Patience." He whispered against her lips as he went to go turn the lights off, just leaving the fire and few candles that they lit earlier. The way she was laying on the ground, sprawled out for him, glowing in the firelight made him so incredibly proud to call her his. He made sure to lock his front door, making her laugh again. The last thing he wanted was one of his kids walking in on what he was about to do to her.

"I love you." He said as he sat down next to her on the ground, running his hand down her stomach.

"I know." She smiled bringing a hand to his cheek. She kissed him once, pulling back to look at him. "I need you to take it slow tonight. For me."

"I can do that." He kissed her nose. She kissed his lips, letting him take the lead. He knew that after the week she had, he needed to be gentle with her, and show her love more than anything else. All he knew was that the fire was warm, as was her body. She was his, and he was hers. He made slow and confirming love to her, never stopping her skin from being adored by his lips. He was stroking into her long and slow with his knees bent. Their eyes locked, and it suddenly occurred to him.

 _She loved him_.

He couldn't pinpoint the exact science behind how he knew this, but he knew. It was in the way she looked at him. And it wasn't just the fact that he was stroking into her just the way that drove her crazy. It was the same look she gave him when he was playing with Alex, or holding her at the cemetery. And maybe she didn't realize it yet, but he knew. And he would wait until she realized it—or had the courage to say it to him.

He was so consumed by his own thoughts, that her orgasm surprised him. He finished after her, burying his head in her neck and kissing her softly. He pulled out, pulling her against his side. The blanket fell down to her waist, but she didn't make a move to pull it back up. And he was grateful to watch her beautifully dark skin reflect and absorb the firelight for a while.

After about thirty minutes or so, Olivia rested her head on his chest, watching the flames lick up towards the chimney. Her legs were tangled up in his and his hand stroked long motions along her side.

"Penny for your thoughts."

"You know better than to ask that." She whispered.

He was silent for a moment, watching her face. The reflection of the fire danced in her pupils. "Are you thinking about your father?"

"In a way."

"B613?"

She was silent, not taking her eyes away from the fire.

"What are you going to do? I mean, you can't take it over."

"Why not?"

"You can't be serious."

"Why not?"

"Because they kill people. They break laws. You can't—that isn't who you are."

"How can you be so sure?" Olivia said in the same low tone.

Fitz pulled her chin with his finger to look at him. "Because I know you."

"In 1994, they apprehended a man with an assault rifle planning on shooting up a hospital. In 2004, they took out the leader of an extremist group in what is now South Sudan whose mission was to rape any girl under the age of 15, trying to get an education."

"You've been reading the files."

"I think there might be a reason this organization exists. It's not pretty, but what if that was you in the hospital that the shooter was planning on visiting?"

"How many people has Jake killed?"

"What?"

"I know that you have read his files. How many?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because it is classified." She sat up, pulling the blanket around her. "And telling a civilian would endanger our national security."

"Do you hear yourself?" He asked, sitting up as well. "You already sound different."

"If I was to disband B613, think about the agents. You have hundreds of trained killers with no direction. What would happen to them? B613 isn't perfect. I disagree with a lot of what my father did. But I could run it differently. I could make it right again."

"What about Alex?"

Olivia reached for her clothes to put on, "My father was the head of B613 for eight years and I had no idea."

"Yeah, and then he abandoned you."

Olivia stopped for a moment at his words, and Fitz immediately regretted saying that. They _never_ talked about her father.

"I am nothing like my father."

"You could've fooled me."

"There is a reason why I never tell you about my work." She left him sitting on the floor as she went to get Alex from her playpen. "I should go."

Fitz was silent, not moving from his place as she put on their coats. She paused at the door, glancing back at him, naked, with a blanket thrown across his lap. Once she closed the door behind her, he stood to watch her walk out to her car. Instead, he didn't see her car. A black Mercedes pulled in front of his house, and he watched her climb in the backseat.

* * *

 **Okay okay okay** _ **don't kill me**_ **. I know that nobody likes B613. I couldn't leave her father floating around in the stratosphere. I am about halfway through ch. 8 so an update should be coming up soon. Happy holidays!**


	8. Chapter 8

**ONE MONTH LATER**

"Is it just me or is something up with her?" Quinn brought coffee into Huck's office.

He didn't respond, he just gave her a look, letting her know that he noticed too.

"She is here way before anybody else, sits at her desk, and looks through these files that she puts away in the safe anytime she leaves her office."

"She has a different cell phone." Huck said. "A cell phone that she didn't let me encrypt. Which means that someone else did."

"Can you hack into it?" Quinn asked too eagerly, but he shot her a deadly look.

"She's our boss."

"I know, I know, sorry."

"But even if I wanted to, I couldn't. It doesn't even operate on normal cell towers. It's underground."

"Underground?"

"If our radio waves are on the 4th dimension, then her cell phone is on the 5th. We can't access it."

Abbey walked into the office, passing by Huck's office. "Just in time for the holidays. We have a celebrity divorce on our hands."

"In here." Quinn called.

"Wait… What is going on?" Abbey asked, seeing their expressions.

"Liv… She's different."

"I assumed it was because of Harrison. I mean, we have all been busy without him."

"She has a separate cell phone."

"So?"

"Why would she need a different cell phone?"

Abbey pursed her lips. "Alright, weirdos. What is your theory?"

"I don't know. It's been a month since Harrison died… I don't think she's still grieving."

"What is everybody doing in here?" Olivia walked up to them. She had her coat on and her keys in her hand.

"Uh, I was just taking everybody's lunch order." Quinn piped up. "Do you want anything?"

"I'm good. I'm heading out."

"Where are you going? I just caught wind of a Hollywood divorce. They want us to manage the press."

"I'll be back in an hour. Schedule a call then."

Abbey was about to say something, but she was already out of the door.

"See?"

/

"I want the new recruit files on my desk." Olivia told Tom as she walked into the old paper plant, converted into B613 headquarters.

"Yes ma'am."

She took the elevator down to the basement of the building. This was the dungeon. When Rowan ran the organization, he would put any disobeying agents in a hole, a 5x5x20 foot hole in the ground. Too wide to climb up, but too small to properly lay down. Total darkness. 1 meal a day containing 400 calories and one glass of water. The only time they were to be brought out was to be beaten or if Command felt like they had earned his mercy. The first thing she did was pull every agent out of there. She gave them adequate food and water, having them cleaned and given proper clothes to wear. There would be no human rights violations in her organization.

"I thought I said to fill them with cement." Olivia asked the guardsmen.

"We are waiting until a shipment of cement that won't expand and crack the foundation arrives."

"Use sand. Dirt. Hell, add some worms and make a compost out of it. I need it filled by the end of the day."

"Yes ma'am."

Olivia went back up to her new office. Tom was waiting by the door. "I don't have long. I need to be back at OPA by 1."

"We have 20 potential recruits. I recommend these five." He set a separate stack aside. Olivia looked at the first one. A 31 year old sniper who was dishonorable discharged from the military for shooting a fellow serviceman in the foot over an unpaid beer. No family. A body count up in the hundreds.

"This one is a no. He has an ego and a temper."

"I will send him home."

"They are here?"

"Yes. They are waiting in the warehouse around back."

"For how long?"

"Two hours."

"Jesus, Tom, some of them have day jobs."

"Do you want me to send all of them home?"

"No… Give me a minute." She flipped to the next file. "Marcus Walker?"

"We could use him in Project Kennedy."

"He's so… soft."

"His friends that knew him growing up in Washington Highlands would disagree. He has skills in the ring that could back him up if he ever needed them."

"He's in." Olivia flipped through the rest of them, tossing the rest out. "Send everybody home but him."

"Do you want to see him in the warehouse?"

"No, send him here."

"On it."

Within minutes, Tom was knocking on her door with Marcus. "Come in."

When Marcus saw her, he paused, looking around like it was a prank. "Olivia Pope?"

"Marcus, I didn't think we would be meeting again so soon."

"I'm confused. What are you doing here?"

"Sit down, Marcus."

He reluctantly took a seat, and Olivia took a seat behind her desk. "I think I know what is going on here—this is a revival of Punk'd? I didn't think that I was that high level of a public figure, but hey, I'll take it."

"Do you know why you are here?"

"I'm not sure anymore. I was given a speech about being a patriot and a king at the same time by a brooding man in a bar—honestly thought he was hitting on me—and something about the opportunity of a lifetime. Now I am here, with you, DC's premier fixer."

"How is the ACLU going?"

"It is the same old. Mundane, meticulous, and all for a greater cause." He cocked his head, "Are you going to tell me why I am here?"

"In addition to my crisis management firm, I also run a secret intelligence organization. We handle any threats against the Republic that are out of the reach of any government organization. I want to hire you."

"Me? I'm a civil rights lawyer."

"We have agents of all backgrounds… Do you want to be mayor of DC?"

"I think you already know the answer to that."

"What about Senator? From say, Maryland? They'd be much more accepting of you than Virginia."

"Get to your point."

"Join us, and I can make you president."

"You are offering me power? Do I sign my soul over on the spot? Or is it more of an interest accruing payment plan?"

"Slow down there, Faust, this is mutually beneficial to both of us."

"Then if not my soul, what do I have to give?"

"An ally. B6-13 operates outside of any government control, but nothing in Washington is ever permanent. All it would take is a disgruntled president or FBI director to dismantle all of the work we do. We need people infiltrating politics to ensure our security."

"And there are no strings once I get into office? No legislation you will want to push that conflicts with my standards?"

"None. Politics are beneath what we do here, we are more interested in power. The offer expires past that door." Marcus hesitated, looking her up and down. "My father used to tell me ' _you have to work twice as hard to get half of what they get_.'"

"I'm pretty sure that every Black parent says that to their child." Marcus said.

"Aren't you tired of working twice as hard? You are a brilliant lawyer, handsome, charming…"

"You think I'm handsome?"

"But somehow you lost the mayoral race to a 53 year old white man."

"Brutal."

"Look at this as the universe dropping a blessing in your lap. Payback for all of your hard work."

"Reparations?" He held his hand out.

"That's one way to look at it." She shook his hand. "Go back to work. I will be in touch."

/

"Get in here." Olivia said as she opened the door to Fitz. He looked incredibly handsome, still in his work clothes. She pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him deeply. He returned her kiss with less enthusiasm, pulling back sooner than she expected. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm tired. Long shift."

"You didn't have to come over then." Olivia helped him out of his coat. "You should have gone home."

"No, it is fine." He kissed her briefly again, "I haven't seen you in over a week."

"Yeah, I've been crazy busy." He turned to see Alex in her high chair with her hands covered in peas. "Wow, it looks like someone thought they were ready to feed themselves."

Alex giggled, biting her green fist. Olivia immediately went over to wipe her hands and face. "I should have moved it out of her reach before I answered the door. Jesus, it is all in her hair."

"Here, let me grab a wet wipe." He turned to Alex's baby bag sitting by the couch. In pulling out the packet of wipes, he noticed a file on the table. _B6-13: Operation Sydney, December 15, 2016_. That was yesterday. He grimaced at it. Ever since their fight in front of the Christmas tree, Olivia was different. She was even busier than before, always preoccupied, and just… different.

"Do you want something to eat? I can fix something up real quick. I had Alice run for some groceries today." Olivia finished cleaning Alex up and pulled her out of her high chair, setting her on the floor. Alex immediately ran over to a pile of stuffed animals on the floor.

"I'm good, I ate at the hospital."

"Hospital food?" Olivia scrunched her nose.

"No, we had a potluck Christmas party."

"A drink?"

"A drink would be nice."

Olivia joined him on the couch with a scotch for him. She noticed the file was out, and smoothly pushed it down into Alex's baby bag. He pulled her legs across his lap and sipped his drink. "How was Jerry's grades for his first semester? I know it is nice for you to have him back."

"They aren't as good as we hoped, but he had some tough labs his first semester. Next semester, he gets to coast on some GEs, so maybe he can pull it up."

"He is at Harvard, after all. Cut him some slack."

"As long as he graduates with a GPA higher than Alex's age, I'll be happy."

"And Karen? Have her latest scores come back?"

"Nope, but we already signed her up for a spring test date."

"Poor girl." Olivia laughed, stealing a sip of his scotch. "She is going to be reciting SAT words until her grave."

"Just because she gets off of restriction with the new year, doesn't mean she can slack."

"She must be so ready for 2017."

"More like 2018, when she graduates."

Olivia absentmindedly rolled the sleeves of his button down up his arms. She could tell that he was tired, but she was crazy missing him.

"Christmas is Sunday."

"Mhmm."

"Spend it with us?"

Olivia hesitated, finishing her task on his sleeves. "Okay."

"We start opening presents at nine. Then they go over to Mellie's at one."

"I'll be there. I swear."

"Thank you." He leaned in to kiss her, setting his drink on the table.

"I've missed you." She whispered, moving his hands to hold her better. "I wish our schedules weren't so out of sync."

Fitz wanted to say _it's your schedule, not mine_ , but he didn't want to ruin their one time together. She already knew that he didn't want her running B6-13. Bringing it up again, wouldn't change anything. He was just happy to hold her. He was just happy to feel her tongue slide against his lips and her warm, tight body across his lap.

Then a single knock sounded from her door. He was sure that it was a pipe cracking in the cold or a neighbor or anything but someone actually there with the intent of interrupting them. Olivia tried to pull back, but he kept her there, biting her lip softly. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he wanted her to himself for just a minute more.

Then it knocked again, this time clear and distinct. Olivia pulled back, looking at the door.

"You aren't home." He whispered, kissing along her neck.

"It could be important." She pushed him off and walked towards the door. Fitz sighed, leaning back against the couch. Olivia checked the peephole before cracking the door. "I told you _no_ interruptions tonight." She said, angrily.

Fitz expected it to be one of her OPA co-workers, but he turned to see Tom Larsen whispering something out of range for him. Olivia paused, thinking hard about whatever it was he told her.

"Tell them to pull the trigger and get the hell out of there. I want a report in the morning." Olivia shot him a look that told Tom to not challenge her. "Now when I say no interruptions, I mean it."

She shut the door, turning back to Fitz. "Sorry about that." She straddled him, moving Fitz's hands to where they were. She leaned in to kiss him, but he pulled back, denying her. "What?"

He gently pushed her off of his lap onto the couch cushion. "I'm sorry, but this isn't going to work."

"What isn't going to work?" Olivia asked, pulling her legs under herself.

"I have seen you twice times over the last month, and even when I do see you, you are still occupied with your secret organization."

"That is my job."

"No, your job is being a fixer. Your job is to be Alex's mother—I mean I feel like you are living two separate lives here."

"If you are suggesting that I am not a good mother—"

"I'm not. I never said that. I'm saying that I feel like I don't even know you anymore."

"I'm still me."

" _Pull the trigger_? You realize that those words just came out of your mouth like a Gettsyburger order?"

"It is a figure of speech."

"So look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't order anybody to be killed tonight."

Olivia looked him dead in the eyes, but did not say anything. She was more infuriated that he would ask her that.

"Unbelievable."

"Fitz, I know that I have been unavailable recently, but—"

"I don't want to hear excuses. I can't have men with body counts camped outside of my house when you visit. Especially when Karen is there. I love you, Olivia. I love you so much, that I can't even see straight through this. But I can't put up with this secret life of yours."

"Is this an ultimatum?"

"I don't want a part of this underground life, Liv. I need to know now, before it is too late."

"So it is you or B6-13?" Olivia raised her eyebrows.

He kissed her forehead for a prolonged second. "I really love you. I could make you really happy, if you would let me." He went over to Alex and patted her head before grabbing his coat.

Olivia watched in disbelief as he exited her apartment.

/

A few days passed and Olivia tried to put Fitz out of her mind, but he kept crawling back in. She tried to see it from his perspective. He was normal. His daily concerns were being a great dad—which he was—and earning a living in a profession that he loved. He wasn't her. He was raised in a world were presidential elections were won fairly and everything was as it seemed. Where NFL scores mattered and history was something to be observed, not participated in.

She wasn't.

She couldn't put a finger on when she became who she was. Was it her father? For as little as he was in her life, was his influence inescapable? Did he instill some power hungry gene in her that attracted her to disaster and taught her to benefit from them? But she wasn't her father. And she told herself that daily. She wasn't a monster that put men in holes for disobedience and didn't flinch at the sounds of torture.

Yet, why did the thought of leaving B613 make her have a reflexive defensive reaction? Why couldn't she let go? Why couldn't she be a normal human being that enjoyed watching _The Voice_ or got upset when celebrity couples broke up? Why couldn't she be normal?

"Hey, hey, act normal." Olivia joked as she kissed Alex's cheek, walking into one of the best day cares in DC. It was the first on the list Fitz gave her, and it was just blocks from her office. Even though she had more than enough money to put Alex in their care, she was nervous of being accepted. She was so busy that she was past most deadlines for January enrollment. It was their last day before they closed for Christmas, and Olivia was hoping to have Alex start there in January.

"Ms. Pope, welcome." The owner greeted her. "This must be Alex."

"Yes, we are very excited about touring your facility."

"I must say, we usually don't accept applications this late, but we had a last minute drop out."

"Then call it a Christmas miracle." Olivia smiled as she looked around the large play room. The woman walked her through the building, explaining their daily schedule.

"You can let Alex play while we discuss the more boring aspects of the process."

"Of course." Olivia set her down by some stationary toys as they went into her office which was sectioned off by glass to still observe the play room.

"The first question I always ask is why do you think that our day care would be a good fit for Alex?"

"Being a working single mother means that I am unavailable during the day, but I feel like just having a nanny is depriving her of important interaction with other children. I want her to be ahead of her age in reading and comprehension, but also know how to be social."

"We teach our children French and Spanish alongside with English, is that okay?"

"That is what drew me to your place. A multilingual upbringing is very important to me."

"Good. We also have strict pick up policies. You are allowed to have four people on the list of who can pick her up. We require ID at the door, and anyone not on the list will require notice ahead of time." She looked out of her office at Alex who was perfectly fine by herself, mashing on a play keyboard. "She is very independent for such a young age.

"Thank you."

"There is also the issue of tuition."

"I have the means to cover whatever costs."

"Well, I don't know what else to say, except for welcome to our family."

Olivia shook her hand. "Thank you. I think we will be a good fit."

They filled out the paperwork and medical forms and closed on the deal. Olivia picked up Alex from outside and walked her out of her car. She was so excited that Alex would be benefitting from some external education that she pulled her phone out to call Fitz. But then she remembered how he left her, and the decision she left him. It would be unfair not to give him what he wanted. She pocketed her phone and drove to her office.

"Where have you been?" Abbey asked as she entered the office.

"I had an appointment with Alex. She's going to be spending the afternoon in the office." Olivia set her down in the conference room. "Where are we on the celebrity divorce?"

"I drafted separate statements for them to make." Abbey handed her two pieces of paper. "You need to look over them before I send them over."

Huck emerged from his office. "I blocked any searches containing _divorce_ and their names from any servers from any tabloid media. Unless they feel like personally filing through the thousands of divorce claims in LA County, then it is untraceable."

"Wait… you can even do that?" Quinn asked.

Huck just shrugged like it was as simple as clicking a _forgot password_ button.

"Nice work. That buys us time. How are we going to release them?"

"The wife is in New York filming a movie, and the husband is in LA with the kids. They would do separate statements."

"No, if we want the public to believe it is amicable—and they aren't ripping at each other's throats—then we need to have them next to each other. Children on their arms."

"Her schedule is pretty tight. They are in the middle of shooting."

"Then he flies to New York. Combine the statements to one and—" Her cellphone rang. "Excuse me." She went into her office to take the call.

"It's the mysterious cell phone again." Quinn said as they watched her talk into the phone.

"Why don't we just ask her what it is for?" Abbey said in annoyance.

"You don't want to ask her about it." Huck said as he backed away to his office.

"Sorry about that." Olivia reemerged. "Where were we?"

"One new statement. In New York. Where do we do it?" Abbey said.

"Why don't we skip the formal press release… It seems too stiff. Have them shoot a cell phone video without their kids."

"Kids would make it seem staged."

"Exactly. Post it to their Facebook accounts and then have Huck remove the block then so that people can find the public records."

"I'll call them and let them know of the change of plans." Abbey said.

"I'll combine the statements into a script." Olivia looked at the papers in her hands. "Quinn, put together the travel arrangements for the family. You might be taking a road trip to New York to make sure it goes smoothly. I don't want any surprises."

Olivia retreated to her office to work on the statement. She tried to focus on the papers in front of her, but her mind was swirling with everything else. She had Fitz and a million different problems within B6-13 that were keeping her from focusing on a silly celebrity divorce. She forced herself to write out what they would say before calling Abbey into her office to go over it.

"Are you okay, Liv?" Abbey asked after they finalized it to send off.

"What do you mean? I'm fine." Olivia reached for Alex who was trying to put her mouth on the coffee table.

"You seem different after Harrison died."

"We were very close." Olivia shifted in her seat. "He was the closest thing to family I had. And you know that."

"I mean a different that doesn't come from grieving." Abbey pushed. "You can talk to me, remember? We used to be very close."

"We still are close." Olivia smiled. "I am just not ready to talk about it yet."

"Let me know if I can do anything." Abbey patted her hand before exiting to get back to work.

Olivia watched her exit, and sighed to herself. She hated feeling like this. Like she couldn't breathe without disappointing the people she loved. She realized, in that moment, that she had to make a change. She couldn't be selfish and continue without being true to Fitz.

If he wanted her to make a choice, then she would. She just had to think it through.

/

"Olivia—what? What are you doing, it is 6 in the morning. On Christmas." Fitz answered the door in pajama pants, shirtless. Olivia could see the goose bumps forming on his arms from the cold air.

"I wanted to talk, before Karen and Jerry woke up." Olivia said in a whisper. Even though she went to bed late last night, she was up early this morning, just thinking. She had to get this off of her chest. She wouldn't have any peace until she talked to him.

"Um, yeah, sure. Come inside. I'll make some coffee." Fitz rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up more.

Olivia sat at the kitchen island as he put coffee onto the pot. "I have done a lot of thinking over these last few days… And I see a huge divide between us."

"I'd say so." Fitz said with a sigh. He wasn't being mean or condescending, he was just agreeing with her. She could tell how exhausted he was, and she knew she was the reason."

"You are normal and I am not. Sometimes I wish I was normal—that I didn't know the things I know and didn't attract the problems that I do—but I can't be normal. It is not in my genetic makeup. And I have tried to think through how we can get over it. How we can be happy, given who we are… And I realized that it is on me."

Fitz set her cup of coffee in front of her, pulling the sugar and creamer out as well.

"I can't expect you to understand what goes on in my life. But I also can't expect you to put up with it. And Fitz…" She walked around the island to where he was leaning against the counter. She pulled his arms around her, thankful that he didn't decide to put a shirt on. "If you want me to choose, I choose you. I am turning over B613 to the President. I want to have no more control over that organization."

Fitz smiled, hugging her and burying his face in her hair. Olivia could tell that he was overcome with emotion, and she knew it meant a lot to him. "I was so worried that I lost you." He whispered into her hair.

Olivia pulled back, looking at his emotional eyes. "I love you."

His face broke into the biggest grin as he kissed her lips softly but assuredly.

"Just keep in mind that there is a transition period with the organization. I have to go to briefings with the CIA, FBI, and President in order to ensure a smooth transition. I can't give it up unless it is done right. But I promise I am done with it. No more agents stationed outside. No more interruptions."

"Other than the usual OPA problems."

"Other than those." Olivia smiled as she kissed him again. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." He paused, running to his bedroom and returning with a small present in the palm of his hand. "I was going to give this to you later—if you came, but I want you to have it now."

"Fitz…" Olivia carefully broke the tape to pull a small box out of the wrapping paper. She opened it to find a gold ring, a single band splitting into a modern infinity sign. "Is this?"

"An engagement ring? Yes. Livvie."

Her face fell as she shook her head. She didn't want to break his heart, but there was no way that she would accept his proposal that morning.

He laughed at how shocked she looked. "No, it's not an engagement ring… Unless you want it to be, because I can run to the jewelers first thing tomorrow."

"Jesus, Fitz…" Olivia hit his chest with her palm, steadying herself against the counter. "Give a girl a chance to catch her breath, I mean damn."

"It's just a ring to let you know that I am committed to you. My mother gave it to me before she died, and told me to give it to the woman I loved. At the time, I knew it wasn't Mellie. I'm glad I found you."

"Thank you." Olivia wiped a lone tear from her eye as she put the ring on her index finger and leaned up to kiss him. She took her time getting lost in his arms. This was the most at peace she felt since before Harrison's death. She felt safe and like she was in the right place in the right time, when it was usually the opposite.

Karen walked in behind them, flickering the kitchen lights. "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals." She was still in her pajamas with her hair messily pulled back into a bun.

"Merry Christmas, Karen." Olivia smiled, moving just out of Fitz's arms, but keeping her hand intertwined in his.

"I'll make breakfast." Fitz opened the fridge, pulling out eggs and bacon.

"I've got some presents in the car that I need to go get. I'll be right back."

"Speaking of presents, Dad said if I got this one gift for Alex, she would wear it all day."

Olivia raised her eyebrow at Fitz. "You are bargaining my child's freedom without my knowledge?"

"Just go get the presents from your car and we will show you." Fitz was grinning.

When she returned from placing the gifts under the tree, she found Alex in a reindeer onesie, complete with plush antlers. Karen held her up in the air. "Ta da!" Alex giggled, delighted at the attention and soft fabric of her new outfit.

"Oh my god," Olivia gasped her face breaking into the biggest grin. "This is so cute."

"I saw it online and I had to get it for her." Karen snapped a picture of her on her phone. "I am going to wake up Jerry so we can go ahead and open presents."

"Be nice about it." Fitz warned.

After eating breakfast together, they all settled around the Christmas tree and distributed gifts.

Olivia got Karen the impossible tickets to see _Hamilton_ on their tour, and she got Jerry a train voucher to see his girlfriend next semester. When it came to Fitz, she didn't know what to get him other than a premium small batch scotch. Even though she told them not to get Alex anything, they still showered her with clothes and toys.

As someone who had never had a real Christmas environment like such, the morning felt foreign to Olivia. She vaguely remembered Christmas with her mother. The excitement of believing that Santa Claus was real, and racing to find out if she was good enough to receive presents. The illusion of Santa was shattered her first Christmas in foster care, when she received a bag of candy and a CD. Since then, it was always a bottle of vodka split amongst her co-workers or a bottle of wine to herself in her apartment.

But being surrounded by family—whether it was hers or not—was strange. Everybody was so normal and in love. Joking around a fireplace and opening presents was something she was getting used to.

By the time Karen and Jerry left to go Mellie's, it was time for Alex's nap. She didn't mind having her nap against her chest as she reclined on the couch and watched the fire cackle. Fitz went away to the kitchen for a moment before returning with a large bowl of popcorn.

"A man after my own heart." Olivia whispered as he moved to sit behind her, "Careful." She warned, not wanting to wake Alex, but he managed to situate her between his legs without waking the sleeping baby.

He held out the popcorn bowl for her to take a handful. "I think I could lie here until I die and be happy."

"That would get boring."

"It would?"

"Yeah. I mean, this is nice. The ambiance is unbeatable. I feel safe and loved. But from this position, I can't kiss you."

"Hmm, that does cause an issue." He reached and kissed her hair. "That will have to do for now."

"Oh, I have good news that I meant to tell you earlier."

"What?"

"Starting January 6th, Alex will be Dreamville Day Care. The place you recommended."

"Realy? They accepted her this late?"

"Yeah. All of the papers are signed and everything."

"That's fantastic."

"Thank you. I'm really happy for her." Olivia clasped his hand over hers, and scratched Alex's back softly. Alex shifted in her arms, sighing in her drowsy state of being.

"Alex's birthday is coming up, right?"

"Yep. 1 year down, seventeen more to go." Olivia joked, opening her mouth and signaling Fitz to feed her some popcorn.

"It was a year ago that I met you." Fitz thought out loud, his hand resting on her stomach. "Remember when you sexually assaulted me on your last night in the hospital?"

"Not funny." Olivia elbowed his rib cage. "You thoroughly enjoyed it."

"I did."

"I should be worrying if you are that friendly with all of your female patients…" Olivia joked. "Because you were very helpful."

"Nope, you were different." He kissed her hair.

"Why did you run to help me on the night Alex was born? I wasn't your patient."

"I… Don't know. I was exhausted from my shift, but when I saw you, I knew I had to help. I had to calm you down."

"I must have been a bitch that night."

"I think I have the scars from your fingernails into my arm." He jokingly pulled his sweater up.

"Once you push a human being out of your body, you can judge."

"True, true." Fitz scratched Alex's back, feeling Olivia start to get drowsy. There was no better feeling than her falling asleep against him. "I would like to have more responsibility with Alex."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I want to get my own car seat for her and get some more furniture here for her so you don't have to keep carting that stuff around. I can pick her up or drop her off from the daycare when you can't make it."

"I would love that." Olivia whispered. "You are the closest thing to a father that she has."

"Thank you."

Olivia yawned, unable to contain her exhaustion.

"You didn't get any sleep last night, did you?"

"I haven't gotten any sleep since we last fought."

"Well, all is forgiven and right. You have permission to take a nap in my arms."

"Merry Christmas." Olivia adjusted Alex before slipping into a sleep that brought peace to Fitz's heart. The woman he loves is nestled against him with the girl that brought them together. They were safe and loved and he was happy to watch them sleep.

/

"Conference room, now." Olivia called. It was the day after Christmas and she had work to do. More like a slate to wipe clean. She watched her team members file in. Every time she called them in for a meeting, she expected Harrison to come. Usually he was already there, preferring the social atmosphere of the conference room to his office. Yet, she couldn't help but expect him to come out of his office with a coffee in hand.

Quinn, Huck, and Abbey all took their seats. Olivia took a deep breath, trying to find how to start the conversation. "I hope everybody had a merry Christmas yesterday… I have some news that I should have shared earlier. My father, whom we looked into earlier, was killed in the same bombing as Harrison. The organization that we assumed to be real, actually was. He was Command." Olivia began to pin pictures onto the glass. She noticed how Huck tensed when he heard her mention her father. "His exit plan for if he was every unable to run the organization—B613—was to pass it down to me. If I have been acting funny recently, that is why. Our next project is to ethically hand it over to the government."

"You are giving it up?" Abbey asked, in disbelief.

"Good." Huck said, uncomfortable.

"I can't devote my life to OPA, Alex, and B613. It isn't safe or fair for any of us."

"So what do we do?"

"I need help figuring out how to do this. I won't hand it over, unless I am confident that the new owners will not abuse their power. We need to set it up to never get out of control. My father did some terrible things with his power, and I don't want B613 to return to what it used to be,"

She handed out files full of the logistics of how B613 managed to stay afloat and thrive.

"If we go into the negotiation room unprepared, we _will_ be taken advantage of. We need to be in control in every step."

"Holy shit." Quinn said as she flipped through the files. "This is unchecked power. No checks and balances. Democracy is a myth."

"And it doesn't belong in our hands. If we play our cards right, we can have any favor coming from the West Wing we want. We have the power right now."

"Let's get to work."

/

"Why am I in your office?"

"Because there has been a change in plans." Olivia motioned for him to take a seat and poured him a glass of wine. He took it in his hands, but didn't take a sip. Instead, he swirled t

"A change in plans? I didn't even know that we had plans yet."

"The organization that you signed on to will soon not exist anymore."

"B613?"

"Yes, it is in the process of being signed over to the control of the US Government."

"The president? As in the institution you were afraid of taking over it?"

"It is for the best. Believe me." Olivia leaned against her desk. "But now you have options. You can stay with B613 and serve at the pleasure of the President, in whatever ways they use you. I can't guarantee your freedom or say in any matters of what they command of you."

"Or?"

"Or you can join my firm. We recently lost our legal expert, and I need someone like you working for me."

"My goal is public office, I… don't see how this is a good fit."

"I elected our current president. What makes you think I couldn't do it again?"

Marcus hesitated, weighing what she was telling him.

"Or you could walk free. Go back to the ACLU and pretend none of this ever happened."

"The term _free_ is relative." He stood, grabbing his coat. "But I'm going to have to pass. I appreciate the offer—the expensive wine—the show. But I've had enough of this, and I am late for work."

"Let me know if you change your mind." Olivia said, showing him out.

"Did he take it?" Quinn asked once he was out of the office.

"No. He didn't."

"His loss."

 **ONE MONTH LATER**

"Hi." Fitz said with a smirk as Olivia opened the door to her office.

"Hi." Olivia pulled him in to kiss his lips. "Thank you for picking her up. My meeting at the White House went overtime." Usually she had one of her team members pick Alex up, since the day care was just up the street, but her team was in Boston, starting a case.

"You know I don't mind picking her up. She helped me do my grocery shopping." Fitz said as he set Alex on the ground. He pulled her closer, kissing her deeper. There was nothing better than having her body pressed against his, after a long period of not seeing her. She smiled against his lips, letting him know that she was just as happy to see him. "How was your day?" She leaned back, looking up at him.

"Pretty good from this view." He kissed her again. "And you?"

"Productive." Left his arms to go to her desk and finish shredding the files that were hallway jammed into the machine. "Want to hear the good news?"

"Is there bad news to follow?"

"Nope."

"Well then of course."

"As of 7:32pm, I have reached an agreement with the US Government for complete annexation of B613. I'm done. I made sure that they would have to handle the resources ethically, and all of that intel is off of my hands." She turned the shredder off after the last stack. "I am a free woman."

Fitz clapped his hands, crossing her office to her desk. "That deserves a celebration." He peppered her face with kisses, making her squeal.

It was a month after she promised to stop running B613. She made it clear that she wouldn't hand the organization over unless she was completely certain that it would not cause a new head to grow on the snake. It took laborious meetings and briefings with the FBI, CIA, and White House to figure out how B613 would go. Olivia spent a couple of late nights in the Oval, trying to work it out with the President. When negotiations failed, Olivia realized she couldn't holistically hand the organization over in one chunk. Instead, she would break it up into resources and assign different agents and technology over to different departments. In this deal she got full immunity for any crimes ever committed by OPA—not that they ever _intend_ to break laws, but they tended to be misunderstood by law enforcement and public officials—and a lot of favors to cash in on at later times.

"So it's finally done."

"It is finally done." Olivia softly raked her fingers along his hair. "The fog has been lifted.

Fitz backed her up against the desk and leaned dangerously close to her. He watched her body react, first tense, but then molding to his, her foot slipping around his ankle and her hands clasping behind his neck. "And your team is gone for the day?"

"Yes…" Olivia bit her lip, trying to hide her knowing grin.

"You know… We haven't had sex in here yet."

"No, we haven't." Olivia laughed. "Maybe it is because of the glass walls, and the fact that my employees don't operate on the 9-5 schedule."

"That does present a challenge." He kissed along her neck. "We have christened just about every room in your apartment and my house. We might as well come full circle."

"We haven't fucked in your office." Olivia was losing her resolve. He knew all of her spots and was shameless in using them to his advantage.

"Yeah, but I am not my own boss." He was kissing along the other side of her neck.

Olivia was about to say something witty back when she saw Alex run towards her toys. While she could walk like a champ, running was a different story. She fell to her own clumsiness, wailing at the contact with the hard wood floor.

"Usain Bolt over here is my real boss." Olivia went over to Alex to scoop her up into her lap and check for any injuries. She soothed her, kissing her knees and hands. "It's okay, baby. You are going to live."

Alex burrowed into the crook of Olivia's neck, reducing her cries into sniffles. Olivia realized that Alex would be latched on to her for a little while longer, so she went over to sit in her desk chair and try to get back to work. "I wish I was ready to head home, but I have to finish some things here before the morning."

"No worries." He grabbed his coat. "I have work in the morning."

"Once I have cleared this whole mess up, I swear. I will be able to devote more time to you." Olivia apologized.

Fitz rounded her desk to lean down and kiss her. She was expecting a chaste kiss, but instead, he wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and kissed her like he hadn't seen her in a week—which technically he hadn't. He pulled back, watching her closed eyes reluctantly flutter open and the look of frustration cross her face. "I look forward to it."

"Ugh." Olivia rolled her eyes. "Just leave."

He snickered, kissing Alex's hair. "Karen's spring play is going to be on March 7th, if you want to set the date."

"I'll be there."

"I'll call you tomorrow." Fitz finally left, leaving her with an exhausted Alex in her arms. She let her stay there, still shaken from her fall, and got back to work. She was about to put on some soft music, when she heard a noise from the office. She stilled, and listened further.

Yes, there was definitely someone in her office. If it was one of her team members, they would have come in to tell her they were there. She slowly put Alex down in her high chair and pulled the small handgun that Huck made her keep in her desk drawer.

As she looked at the unused piece of metal in her mind flew to who it could be. With B613, her senses were on edge 24/7. It could be anybody coming to steal information or worse—hurt her or Alex. That was another reason why she was eager to give it up. With the enemies they faced, it wouldn't be above one of them to hurt Alex to get what they wanted.

Olivia stepped out of her office into the hallway to find all of the lights still off. She heard rustling again from Harrison's office. Surely, it was an intruder. She kept her loaded hand stiff by her side, pointed down. She had never used it before, but she knew how to.

She walked into view of the office to find Marcus Walker there with a cardboard box full of office supplies.

"Jesus Christ." Marcus raised his hands in the air, dropping a mug to the floor with a crash.

"What the—what are you doing here?" Olivia lowered her gun as she caught her breath.

"Do you greet all of your new employers like that?" Marcus asked as he motioned to her gun that was still in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked, disarming the gun.

"I work here now. I was planning on setting up my office. In the morning I was going to be here early to greet everybody with coffee."

"Cheeky." Olivia helped him clean up the shattered mug. "How did you get in here?"

"The security man for the building actually used to work with my dad at a hardware store. Small world… What are you doing here so late, anyways? It is almost 9."

"We don't run on normal business hours."

"Ah, I shouldn't be surprised."

"What made you change your mind?"

"I got passed up for a promotion for a white boy in the same fraternity as the promoter. He had only been working there for three years. I saw my life on one of those movies marketed for 40-60 year olds that are trying to be sad, but just dismal regurgitations of mid-life crises. Except I'm only 32. Way too young to be having those thoughts. And it occurred to me that one day, I will be at a high school reunion and people will laugh at how I wanted to be a politician one day. So to hell. Here I am."

Olivia removed her keys from her keychain and tossed them at him. "Use these next time. And let me know you are here."

"Will do, boss." He caught them with one hand and pocket them.

"Welcome to OPA."

* * *

 **I hope everybody has had a great New Years. It might be a while before I can upload again, but I had to have some peace come to this AU.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, guys. _Sorry_ about the long wait. Things just caught up, then when I started writing, I couldn't find a chapter break. (That means the next chapter should follow shortly). I also watched tonight's episode and felt the urge to counteract that awful writing. (If you stopped watching the show for whatever reason, know that you made the right decision.)**

 **Anyways, this picks up a year and a few months later. Alex is in the beginning of her 2s. It is sometime in early Spring.**

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"I can't remember the last time I saw you wear jeans." Fitz surprised her from behind, letting his hand graze her ass and his lips brush her cheek. They were at the level of coming and going freely in each other's homes.

"My dry cleaning is out." Olivia glanced down at her dark wash jeans and cashmere sweater. She welcomed his hands on her waist, pulling their bodies together like magnets.

"I'm so sorry that you had to stoop down to our peasant level." He kissed her softly, working his tongue against hers so gently that she was putty in his hands. "How was Paris?"

"Cold." Olivia said. She had a last minute business trip to Paris to deal with a scandal within the government, and spring had yet to make an appearance in the city.

"If I wanted to know the forecast, I could've checked the weather channel." Fitz honestly couldn't care less about whatever French scandals were rocking the high places across the pond, but he liked teasing Olivia about her secretive work life.

"I picked up some new wine over there that we can try tonight. Prepare to be blown away." She changed the subject, reaching for a bottle out of a bag on the counter.

"I thought we were going out." Fitz noticed for the first time the pots on the stove and the smell wafting from the oven. "You cooked?"

"I did. Well, kind of. Abbey was over earlier trying things out."

"It smells delicious." He grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet.

"I wanted to do something special for Karen. What time will she be here?"

Fitz checked his watch. "She has play practice until five so I imagine she'll go home and change then come over. Should be here soon."

"Have you decked yourself out in NYU gear yet?" Karen had received all of her college acceptance and rejection letters. She decided on NYU with a major in theater business. Olivia had yet to congratulate her, so that is why she was taking the effort to cook.

"Oh, she has already cleaned out their bookstore."

Olivia held a glass of wine up to his lips. "Drink."

He obeyed, letting the wine dance on his palate. It was no doubt an incredibly expensive bottle by the way she was treating it. It was probably the best glass he had ever tasted—which said a lot considering how Olivia had expanded his wine horizons since he met her. Olivia was too beautiful expectantly observing his reaction. He leaned down to kiss her, sliding his tongue along hers, so that she could taste it off of him. He pulled back, leaving her breathless and unable to open her eyes.

"I'm assuming you liked it." She whispered.

Fitz chuckled deeply, pecking her on the lips again. His phone rang, snapping Olivia out of her trance. She turned to stir the pot in front of her and let him answer it. He kept his hand on her hip as he pulled his phone out.

"What's up, Mel?" He answered. Olivia listened to his end of the conversation, which wasn't telling. He was quiet for a minute, before he responded. "Well, I'm happy for you… I didn't know that you were considering that… I know, I just assumed… Never mind. I'm happy for you, Mel. That's great news… No, I won't tell Karen. She'll be home after dinner tonight… Alright, bye." Fitz hung up and slid his phone back into his pocket.

"What was that?" Olivia asked, noticing that Fitz seemed slightly shocked.

"Andrew finally proposed to Mellie. They are officially engaged." He laughed softly.

"And that shocks you?"

"A little, yeah. Obviously I'm happy for them. It's just strange. I mean, Teddy is six. I assumed they were just happily living together. It is weird to think of her as married again."

"If it makes her happy, then I'm happy for her." Olivia said, noticing that his hand was still possessively on her waist. He had a far off look in his eyes. "Fitz?"

"Do you see yourself remarrying?" He snapped out of his little trance.

Olivia shifted her weight slightly, letting his hand fall from her waist. "I don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't know. The concept of marriage feels more like a symbol."

"A symbol." He nodded to himself, put off by her response.

"You said yourself that it was weird with Mellie and Andrew. They have a kid together, they live together. Marriage is just a title at that point." Olivia busied herself with the food in front of her. She could tell that Fitz was becoming more distant as every second went by. She took the lamb out of the oven and set it on the counter, removing her oven mitts. "Hey," She put a hand on his cheek, making him look at her. "I love you, okay?"

"If I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?"

"Are you asking?" Olivia raised her eyebrows. She didn't like the long pause he let hang before he answered.

"If."

"Fitz…" Olivia didn't like where this was going. She knew that she had already hurt his feelings, but she couldn't lie. No matter what, she did not lie to him. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" His eyebrows raised.

"I would say no." She said firmly. "If you asked me right now, I would say no."

Fitz moved away, like he needed space, but she held him firmly. She moved his hands back to around her waist, knowing that he was easier to talk to when he was physically touching her.

"I love you. And you know that. But it's complicated. We have a plan, remember?" Her hands softly massaged his arms.

"I know." Fitz sighed. They agreed that they wouldn't move in until after Karen moved to college. Not that Karen didn't want them to live together, but Olivia didn't want to disrupt her senior year. She didn't want her to have to worry about moving her things on top of colleges and finishing high school.

"So…" Olivia reached for her wine glass. "I'm assuming that Karen doesn't know yet, right?"

"Yeah, don't mention it tonight." Fitz dropped his arms from her and reached for his glass. She could tell that he was disappointed in her, but the conversation had moved on.

"Alex has a playdate tomorrow after her day care."

"Really?" Fitz raised his eyebrow. "With who?"

"One of her classmates. His name is Caleb. Apparently, they are inseparable at the place."

"Uh oh." Fitz chuckled. "She is already sweeping the boys off of their feet."

"Don't start." Olivia rolled her eyes. "The mom seems like a real perfect mother. She's a part time lawyer in Bethesda."

"You are a perfect mother." Fitz noted after a sip of his wine.

Olivia smiled at his compliment, checking her watch. "Speaking of which, I should go wake her up from her nap. Or she won't get any sleep tonight."

Olivia woke up a slightly cranky Alex, who brightened up the second she saw Fitz. Alex was well into her _terrible two_ s, but was playing everybody with her infectious smile. She was impossible to deny with her wild curls and wide eyes. Fitz was grateful that she inherited her mother's eyes, because they were gorgeous.

When Karen came, they all sat down and enjoyed dinner. Karen babbled incessantly about her future home in New York City—the cool restaurants nearby, the dorm building she wanted, and the prestigious faculty.

"Dad, is it cool if I stay with you this week?" Karen asked, between mouthfuls of her dinner.

Fitz shook his head. "Your mother wants you to spend this week with her."

"Please? I can't focus on the play with Teddy running around." She turned to Alex. "Alexandria, _please_ don't ever turn six."

"Sorry, but you will have to stay with her. You can take Teddy to the park and let him blow off calories, while you work on your play." He didn't mind Karen staying with him, but Mellie mentioned needing her to help out more with Teddy. Plus, Mellie had to share her big news with Karen.

"Fine." Karen accepted. "When are you going to let me drink wine with dinner?"

"When you can legally buy your own."

"Dad… I'm about to be in college."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" He asked.

"How about if I pour you a glass, you do the dishes." Olivia wagered, smirking at Fitz's scowl.

"Deal." Karen agreed, happily running to the kitchen to get another glass.

"You think you can undermine me in front of my children like that?" Fitz asked in mock anger.

"I'm getting you back for all of the times you've handed Alex back to me with ice cream dripping down her chin." Olivia joked.

Her deal worked out in their favor. Karen cleaning up the kitchen gave them some much needed relaxation on the couch. Alex colored on the floor, while Olivia nestled into Fitz's side. It was nice to sit there in relative silence with no television on. The only noise was Karen in the kitchen and Alex humming softly.

"Alright, I should probably head over to Mom's." Karen said, grabbing her purse. "Thanks for dinner."

"Congratulations on NYU, again." Olivia said. "You are going to love it there."

"Be careful driving." Fitz called. He knew that the glass of wine wouldn't affect her driving that much, but he wanted her to be careful anyways.

"I know. Bye guys." Karen left Olivia's apartment.

"Do you ever look at your kids and think, ' _I really did something right here_ ,'" Olivia asked, snuggling deeper into his side.

"She does make me look good." Fitz smiled, kissing Olivia's forehead. With Alex preoccupied with her drawing, Olivia took it as an opportunity to soak up the man she loved and missed in her week away. Before they realized how quickly things were progressing, Olivia was straddling him and his hands were under her sweater, groping her breasts. Olivia gasped at the sensation of his hands roughly massaging her body.

A frantic knock on the door made Olivia pull back, catching her breath. Fitz didn't remove his hands, but looked at her through lust filled eyes. "Don't." He mouthed.

The knock continued, rapid staccato beats. Olivia reluctantly pushed his hands down her sweater and peeled herself from him. She readjusted her clothes and hair before peeking through the peep hole.

"Karen, did you forget something?" Olivia opened the door.

"I couldn't even get to my car, Liv. There are a hundred reporters outside screaming your name." She pushed past Olivia into her apartment, frazzled. "I didn't know what to do, so I just came back up."

"You did the right thing." Olivia switched into crisis mode as she locked the multiple locks on the door that she never used. "Did you tell them who you were?"

"No. They asked if I knew you, but I… I panicked. I just turned around and came back up."

Olivia peeked past her curtains at the limited view of the street. She saw a packed sidewalk and camera flashes being drawn to the movement behind the curtain. She flipped the TV onto the news.

 _International scandal has ensued. We have leaked security footage coming from the Élysée Palace, where the President of France is seemingly having an affair with American PR specialist, Olivia Pope._

"Shit." Olivia said, quickly apologizing to Karen.

 _In the footage, you can clearly see Ms. Pope in the private residential wing of the palace. The time stamp is at four in the morning. We see her walking down a hallway, adjusting her clothes with a bottle of wine in tow. She is the only person seen walking out at this time. The president's wife is on a publicity tour in Argentina at the time._

Fitz watched in shock as a grainy security video replayed of Olivia walking down a hallway by herself. One hand held a bottle of wine, while the other double checked to make sure her shirt was tucked in. He watched the video in silence, intently drinking every word from the news anchor.

Olivia was pacing back and forth, ferociously dialing into her phone. "Quinn. You heard. Great. I need the entire team to come over. Call the police to control the crowd of reporters."

She hung up and immediately dialed another number.

"Olivia Pope pour le Président." There was a pause, as she impatiently tapped her foot. "Ne faites rien encore. Attendez ma commande. Non! Je vais résoudre ce problème. Je serai en contact."

Olivia was pacing again, typing into her phone.

"Uh, Liv…" Karen motioned to the TV screen. She turned the volume up.

 _We are gaining more information on Olivia Pope. She is not your normal PR consultant. Her firm, Olivia Pope and Associates deals with crisis management. She has impressive clientele, including multiple heads of state and celebrities._

"Oh, no." Olivia gasped as a picture of her and Alex appeared on the screen.

 _She is recently widowed with a daughter, Alexandria Pope._

"Mama." Alex stood up and spread her hands towards the TV screen. "It me."

"Alex, baby." Olivia scooped her up and turned her away from the screen. "Why don't you draw me a picture over here?" She set her down in her high chair at the dinner table.

"What should I draw?" She said slowly, completely unaware of what was going on. She stretched to look over her shoulder at the TV, but Olivia scooted her chair to face away from it.

"Do you think you could draw me a flower or a dog?"

"Yes!" Alex clapped her hands, excited to try her artistic skills.

Olivia kissed her forehead. "Thank you, baby. Make it pretty."

A knock sounded at her door, letting her know that her team arrived. She let them in, locking the door after them.

"Where are we?"

"DCPD is getting the street situation under control. I counted all major cable news, networks, seven newspapers, and a couple dozen smaller sources." Marcus said, clearing her coffee table for their laptops. "It's only a matter of time before French press arrives."

"Your name is trending on Twitter and Facebook." Quinn said from her phone.

"549 articles have posted in the last 30 minutes. 291 from American sources, the rest are international." Huck said, hooking up a complicated computer that looked like it was stolen from the CIA.

"We need to get Karen out of here safely." Olivia said. Karen was standing in the corner, with wide eyes, trying to stay out of the way.

"They have the back surrounded too." Abbey said, "We can get her out, but not without everybody noticing."

"No." Fitz rose from the couch, walking over to his daughter. "I don't want her getting dragged into this. Is there any way we can sneak her out with no photos."

"This apartment complex has no other ways. It won't work." Olivia said.

"It's fine. I don't mind having my picture taken." Karen said.

"No, I won't allow it." Fitz put his hand on her shoulder. He was too protective of her. Karen knew from his voice, that he meant it.

"Call Mellie and let her know that Karen is safe with us." Olivia directed at Fitz. "You can stay here until they die down outside."

"I've got some homework in my car. I can do that in Alex's room. I'll watch her for you." Karen offered. She was freaked out by all of the things swirling around the room and still a little shaken from the press, but she still wanted to help.

"Marcus, go get her books." She tossed Karen's car keys from the counter at him. Karen helped Alex carry her coloring materials to her room.

"Okay." Olivia locked down on the crises in front of them. She didn't notice Fitz disappear into the kitchen for a glass of scotch. "We need to find out who leaked the footage. Although I think I know, we still need to have solid proof."

"I'll try to find a trail in the palace security. It might take a while, everything is in French." Huck said.

"What if we access the possible suspect's servers? They would be less encoded than the palace." Quinn piped in.

"Get to work on that." Olivia nodded. "We also need to do damage control. I need to make a statement denying the accusations. My story is that I'm a good friend of the president, and that is that. We have a history of being friends, and I would never do that to the First Lady."

"Good friends is the equivalent of fuck buddies by French standards." Abbey said.

"Well, I can't reveal my reason for being there. I can't compromise my client's confidentiality."

"Liv." Fitz said, finishing his scotch that he had just poured.

"If the reason why I was there that late is revealed, then it will endanger their national security. If anything, we need to protect the client."

"Liv…" Fitz repeated, trying to get her attention.

"We need to keep tabs on the First Lady. She is a liability right now. Any move she makes could hurt—"

" _Olivia_." Fitz said louder, making Olivia turn on her heels to face him. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yes." Olivia was pulled out of her crisis mode, and startled by his tone.

Fitz walked into her bedroom so she followed. Once the door was shut, he ran a hand through his hair. "Liv, what the fuck is this?"

"I'm sorry, I know this is a lot—"

"Is it true?" His eyebrows shot up in hurt.

"What?"

"Were you in the French President's private quarters late at night?" His voice rose louder than he wanted it to.

"Yes, but—" Olivia motioned for him to be quieter.

"What were you doing? Because I have yet to hear an explanation."

Olivia sighed. "I can't tell you what I was doing."

"Wow…"

"Because it risks the safety of my client, Fitz."

"Of course it does."

"I am not having an affair!" She threw her hands up. "Fitz, do you hear yourself? I would never."

"Then what was the wine?"

"A gift. That is it." Olivia pleaded, trying to control the anger rising in her. "I have worked for the French President before, and he knew that I liked nice wine. It was a _gift_."

"He's handsome. Young. Powerful, for sure. Maybe a doctor wasn't ambitious enough for you." Fitz backed away with his hands up. "I'm leaving. You obviously have work to do."

"No," Olivia grabbed his arm. "You can't go out there right now. Not with the press."

"Watch me."

Olivia positioned herself in between him and the door. She put her hand on his chest. If he wanted to get past her, he would have to physically remove her. "As of right now, nobody knows of your relation to me. The longer we can keep it like that, the better. If you go outside right now, then it will bring a hailstorm down on not only you, but your family. Karen. Jerry. Mellie. I can't _protect_ you if you are out of this apartment."

Fitz sighed, stepping back from her hand. He knew that she was right. "Tell me then. Tell me why I should believe anything you say. Client confidentiality be damned."

Olivia shook her head, so Fitz reached around her for the door handle.

"Sit down." She said as he was halfway out of the door. He obeyed, taking a seat at the foot of her bed. Olivia sat next to him, "I was hired by the French President. His wife hates his guts, and he wanted a discreet, independent person to investigate and plan for if she did anything to sabotage him. His suspicions were confirmed when we discovered her ties to an underground Moroccan political regime. If our suspicions are correct, she is helping them to secure some type of power in France to advance their conflict with Algeria. The President is staunchly against them. This is just what we suspect, but we think that she hates her husband enough to tank his presidency to spite him and gain power for herself."

"Why were you there so late? In his bedroom?"

"I can't meet with him under any official visit. The press would have been notified of a schedule change, and with my reputation, people would automatically create buzz over the scandal. I was not in his bedroom. We had a meeting in his living room, and it was so late because of the time difference. I worked remotely from DC, then once we found what we did, I had to immediately fly to Paris. It was just poor timing, but he wanted to speak with me immediately."

Fitz looked at the floor intently without making a sound.

"You have to believe me. I love you, and I would never cheat." She got on her knees in front of him and put her hand to his cheek. "I love you." She repeated.

He tilted her chin up so he could look her more directly in the eyes. He searched every feature of her face to determine if her words were ringing truth.

"I will stay." He said in a low voice.

"I'm sorry." Olivia ran her fingertips through his hair. "I will fix this." She kissed his forehead and walked back into the living room with new strength. She could tell that her team was slightly annoyed with her absence to talk to Fitz.

"These are our options: Come clean about the case to clear my name but risk our client. That creates a bigger scandal that overshadows this, and I slip away in the moment of mass confusion. Or, we simply deny the accusations. Nobody believes it, and I am branded as a power hungry whore spreading my legs for business."

Marcus winced at her last statement. "We can't do either."

"But I have another idea. We create another scandal and throw the blame on it. I wasn't there with him discussing his wife's traitorous manipulations with foreign governments, I was helping him with… Fill in the blank with a smaller, more palatable scandal."

"You want us to lie?"

"I know that this isn't ideal for our company. It goes against our morals as a firm so—"

"Over a cliff." Abbey cut her off. Olivia looked at Huck who nodded in agreement.

"Same." Quinn said, and they all looked at Marcus. Even though he had been working for over a year, he was still new and usually the one with moral objections. The air was thick as they waited for him to object.

"What is the catchphrase? Are we gladiators or… Help me out Liv."

"Bitches." She smiled. "Are we gladiators or bitches?"

"Well, my mama didn't raise no bitch. Count me in."

/

"How are you doing?" Fitz asked, entering Alex's nursery. Karen had abandoned her homework and was lying on the floor with Alex, helping her color.

"I'm fine." Karen said confidently. "How is Liv? This can't be easy."

"She's fine for now. Her adrenaline is pumping, so she's working."

"Blue." Alex demanded, reaching for a crayon that was out of her reach. Karen handed it to her as she scribbled over what vaguely resembled a four legged animal.

"Were you two just fighting?" Karen asked, quietly. She heard them raise their voices, but she couldn't make out the words. She never heard Olivia angry before.

"Yes." Fitz admitted. He hated how grown Karen was becoming. "But we are good. I swear. You don't have to worry about us."

"Okay." Karen accepted. "When can I go home?"

"I don't know." Fitz admitted. "I am sorry about all of this. You don't deserve to be dragged into it. I'm sorry that the press scared you."

"I'm _fine_ , dad. I told you already." She all but rolled her eyes.

"Color this." Alex demanded, pointing to a series of triangles she drew.

Karen dutifully picked up a red crayon.

"No." Alex protested, handing her a purple one. "I want pink."

"Alex, this is purple, not pink." Karen said, holding up the pink one to compare. "See? Purple… Pink."

"Puh-ple." Alex said slowly, trying to grasp the pronunciation.

"Good girl, purple." Karen smiled, getting back to the task at hand. "I can't believe that I am about to string these words together… but Liv didn't sleep with the French President, did she?"

"No." Fitz said with a little amusement in his voice. He never thought he would be in a situation that would cause him to explain that the woman he loves is not having an affair with the French head of state. "It is just bad optics."

"Okay." Karen said. She loved Olivia, but she couldn't handle her cheating on her father. After everything that happened between her mother and Fitz, she would be heartbroken. "You deserve the best, Dad." She said to the side as she continued to color where Alex told her to.

/

It was nearly two am. Alex had long since tired herself out playing dress up with Karen, and had been put to bed hours ago. Karen fell asleep in Olivia's bed, with it being a school night. The final plan was almost in motion. Olivia wanted it to be done, not only because she had seen her face and— more disturbingly—Alex's face played on a loop on every news channel, but because she hated keeping Fitz and Karen cooped up in her apartment like prisoners.

But the final plan was almost in action. Her team set up a press podium outside of her firm. She would go there to make a statement, attracting the horde of reporters—which had now grown with international outlets—away from her home. She planned on Karen being able to go home once she began her statement and took all of the pressure from her apartment building. Now that she was asleep, she didn't mind letting her spend the night.

The persistent press had only began to pick up on her relationship with Fitz. Now, it was only rumors and unverified sources, but Olivia knew that within hours, the investigators of the press would have confirmed that they were in a serious relationship. Then, Fitz's face would be the one circulating cable news. Pundits would discuss how she cheated on him as well.

That was why they needed to act fast.

"Everything is set up, right?" Olivia double checked. She meant not only the press's position for her statement, but also their master plan.

"Well-oiled and waiting for your initiation." Abbey confirmed.

"Let's go." Olivia fidgeted with her look in the mirror. She had showered and changed, trying to appear fresh for the cameras. This statement, after all, was the make or break of the crisis.

They drove to her office. Olivia watched as the photographers and videographers went from a peaceful state of boredom to a rambunctious roar of flashes.

"Ready?" Marcus asked, sitting next to Olivia in the back seat.

"Do I have a choice?" Olivia asked grimly. She unbuckled her seat belt and slid out of the back seat into the intimidating glare of flashes.

She took her place at the podium and took a deep breath.

/

Fitz watched intently with the volume on the lowest setting. Yet, it was loud enough, blaring through his ear drums. Here he was, watching the woman he would pledge his life to, be put up on a highly dissectible platform. And he could do nothing. He couldn't protect her here. She was in her own world. This was her job. And he had to sit back and watch.

"Good evening." She began, "Or good morning, by now. I would like to thank all of you for being so patient with my office, as well as the office of the French President. I would like to clear some things up, and put an end to the rumors that have hurt my family, as well as the French President's family."

Fitz realized that he had an iron grip on the edge of the couch. Even just the film of a thousand camera bulbs had him on edge.

"I would never disrespect the French President or his lovely wife, by participating in an extra marital affair. These accusations are cruel and malicious towards a beautiful union. My relationship with President Collet has always been one of mutual platonic respect. As everybody now knows, my firm handles crises. Our job is to provide a clear third party analysis on how to handle human errors."

Fitz felt some relief flood through his system from the other side of the TV. She was in her element, nailing every inflection and tone—despite the clock in the corner reading 2:34am.

"I was hired by President Collet's office to investigate an incident within his administration. Due to schedule limitations and time zone difficulties, my meeting with the president was very untimely. Fortunately, we resolved the issue in a very efficient time frame. I know that everybody wants some kind of scoop, but this is the truth. I wish I could help you sell more covers." Olivia joked in good nature with the reporters. "I will now take a few questions."

A roar of hands went up. Abbey helped select a question for her.

"What are the First Lady of France's thoughts on this?" A mousey man with a microphone asked.

"I do not speak on behalf of her. You will have to redirect that question to her office. I have the utmost respect for her, and all of her humanitarian efforts for clean water in the developing world."

"Can you give us any details on the incident you had to investigate?" Another asked.

"I cannot disclose any information about my firm's clients or cases." Olivia said sharply. She stole a glance at Quinn, who nodded affirmatively. She had just leaked the lie they were selling. _A staffer got an intern pregnant, and the intern attempted suicide._

Olivia hated using two innocent people in her plan, but they agreed eagerly to the large amount of reimbursement of their trouble. Within fifteen minutes, their story would cover this, and the public would move on.

"Can you confirm that you are in a relationship with Fitzgerald Grant?" A well-known gossip columnist asked.

Fitz noticed even through the TV screen, that she tensed up at the mention of his name. "I will not discuss my personal life on this platform. I speak on behalf of my firm. However, I will say that any discussion of my personal life—more importantly—my daughter is grossly misdirected and shameful. I know what I signed up for with my career. Therefore, if you have any criticisms or analysis of my firm, feel free. Any discussion of my family is off limits. Next question."

A few more surface level questions were asked and answered. Olivia spoke a few words in French for the international press, then wrapped up the press statement. The pundits on the television kicked into commentary mode. He tried to listen to what they were saying, but all he could do was focus on the replayed footage of Olivia speaking on the split screen.

It wasn't long before Olivia was coming home. Her team quickly broke down their make shift office and left.

"You didn't have to stay up." Olivia said, sitting next to Fitz on the couch. The room was so quiet and dark. The muted television replayed footage of the press release, flashing lights across the room.

"How did it go?"

"So far so good. In a couple of hours, the French President will release a statement corroborating mine. The press just has to eat up the story we gave them about the intern." Olivia leaned her head into her hands and took a deep sigh. "And we have to hope that our pawns don't slip up."

Fitz put his hand on her back, softly rubbing it and then pulling her into his arms. She was so weak and exhausted that she felt more like a rag doll than a human. "It is going to be okay."

"I just…" Olivia pulled back, resuming her position of head in hand. "Need a minute."

"Take all of the minutes you need." He said softly, kissing her shoulder.

She took series of deep breaths, before her shoulders slumped into sobs. Fitz forgot from her usual façade that she was actually vulnerable to the situation. Having your face and name dragged through the media was awful, even for someone whose job required her to handle the press. She tried—and failed—to get herself under control. Fitz knew that she didn't want to be smothered, so he just softly rubbed her back.

"I don't want Alex…" Olivia began, taking a deep breath, "to grow up with this. She's two. She shouldn't be on everybody's smart phone and TV for something _I_ did."

"She won't remember this." Fitz whispered.

"But she will google herself one day." Olivia pulled her head up and looked at him, "She will see her name on hundreds of articles, and wonder what Mommy was caught in another man's bedroom late at night."

"It is not your fault." Fitz brought her hand to his lips to kiss. "You are exhausted and need sleep. Staying up and blaming yourself for coincidences that anybody would have done is not helping anything. Let's go to bed." He stood, holding her hands and waiting for her to follow.

"Karen is sleeping in my bed." Olivia smiled, temporarily forgetting her troubles. "I never thought I would be sleeping on the couch in my own home."

"It's a nice couch." Fitz smiled, capitalizing on her moment of humor. "I mean, we have accomplished far more acrobatic feats on here than just sleeping."

"I'll go get some blankets." Olivia playfully punched his chest, realizing how much she needed sleep. The best remedy for her night involved feeling layers of blankets circling her, and the arms of the man she loved hugging her close. At least for the few hours of sleep she could manage, she would feel safe and unharmed by the craziness of the international scandal she faced.

* * *

 ***I know that the wife of the French president is not techincally "First Lady," but for the purpose of this story, that is the title I will refer to her as.**

 **Thank you for reading! Review and await for the next installment!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello! Thank you for the kind reviews. Someone informed me that the correct name for the French President's wife is "première dame," so that is how I will refer to her in this. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! The next one should be coming up in a week or so.**

* * *

Olivia woke up a couple of hours later. It wasn't unusual for her to get a few hours of sleep at night, before getting back to work. Yet, this time, it was her internal clock telling her Alex should probably be needing to use the bathroom.

Olivia rose, carefully peeling herself from Fitz's arms. She was often grateful for what a deep sleeper he was. She checked on Alex, who was awake and had already wetted her pull up. She was curiously pulling at the edge of her pull up, wondering why her bottom felt wet.

"Good morning, Love." Olivia cooed as she scooped her up and took her to the bathroom. She was learning how to potty-train with great progress, but her night time wetting was something only time could fix. Olivia tossed the dirty pull up and gave her a bath, sneaking in a quick shower for herself. She managed to moisturize Alex and get her in some clothes without waking up Karen or Fitz.

By the time Fitz woke up, Olivia was dressed for work and feeding Alex breakfast. He rubbed his eyes, checking his phone. _6:26_. He didn't know how she was so up and functioning. He was dying after three and a half hours of sleep.

"Good morning." She said softly, when she heard him sit up.

"It is so early." He squinted at the light coming from the kitchen.

"You should head home and get some more sleep." She crossed over to him and kissed him more awake. "You still have to work tonight."

"I can call in sick. Cyrus will understand."

"Nope, you are going to work." Olivia said grimly. "The press picked up on our relationship around four this morning. Hopefully by tonight, it will die down, but missing work will only stir up gossip."

"Will I run into any problems with the press at the hospital?"

"Probably not. I will call their security so they can be proactive. Be careful what you say, even to your closest co-workers. Anybody can talk to the press for a buck."

"Do you need me to drop off Alex at the day care for you?"

"I'm dropping her off with her nanny. I don't want to bring any unwanted attention to the day care center."

"So she can play hookie, but I can't?" He joked lightly, noting the stress in her voice. "Is Karen…?"

"Still asleep in my bed, yes." Olivia handed him the other half of a banana that Alex couldn't eat. He could smell the coffee brewing. "I didn't know if you wanted to let her sleep in or not. It wouldn't be the worst thing if she skipped school today."

"I'll go wake her." Fitz rose up, stealing one more kiss from her. He let his arm linger around her waist, when she tried to get back to Alex. "How are you?"

"Fine." She said convincingly. He knew that she wasn't, but he also knew that she was in control of everything.

"How is the press situation outside?"

"Better. It's still pretty heavy out front, but we can sneak her out the back."

"I'll go wake her up." Fitz accepted the cup of coffee and walked into Olivia's bedroom. Karen was fast asleep, with her hair covering her face. Fitz sat on the side of the bed, and nudged her softly. "Karen, wake up."

"What?" She groaned, trying to gain her bearings and remember why she was waking up in a stranger's bed.

"Good morning."

"Good morning—I, where is Liv?" Karen pulled her hair back into a ponytail and pushed the covers back.

"In the kitchen. She's fine. They got the press under control outside, so we can leave." Fitz let her have a sip of his coffee to wake her up. "Do you want to go to school today?"

"Do I have a choice?" She asked, surprised. If there was one thing her father was strict on, it was that she was never to skip school.

"Yes, honestly."

Karen checked her phone, scrolling through the endless messages she received over night. "I'll go." She said, surprising Fitz. "I have a presentation in Econ, and my absence would stir up more talk."

"You should leave now, if you want to have time to go home and shower."

/

"What do we have?" Olivia plopped down in a chair in the conference room with her second cup of coffee in hand.

"You look like shit." Marcus said, earning a rough nudge from Quinn.

"I think I look pretty ravishing, considering the three hours of sleep I got last night." Olivia quipped, taking a long sip of her coffee. "What do we have?"

"The intern story we shot out is being accepted." Quinn said, placing a stack of articles in front of her. " _Slowly_ picking up steam, but picking it up nonetheless."

"Has the—"

"Yes, the French President made a statement this morning to the T of what we gave them."

"Good." Olivia said, flipping through the pages. "Where is Huck?"

"In his dungeon." Abbey said, distributing coffee amongst the team members.

"Huck! Bring what you have here." Olivia called.

He immediately emerged from his office and briskly walked down the hall to the conference room. He was wearing the same clothes as the previous night and looked like he spent the night staring at a bright computer screen. "I found the leak."

"Where you here all night?" Abbey handed him a coffee.

"I coded an inter-systemic Trojan that infiltrated—"

"In English."

"I found the computer it was sent from. The IP address was registered under the government in 2012."

"The year the President was elected." Olivia commented.

"The computer is a personal HP lap top. It had been recoded with higher security, which is what took so long."

"So we know it was an internal leak." Quinn said. "What were its coordinates?"

"The Four Seasons in Buenos Aires."

"So it was the wife." Olivia swiveled in her chair as Abbey pinned her picture to the wall.

"No." Huck said cautiously. "At the time that the footage was accessed, which was 1:17pm yesterday, the she was at school seven miles away on a publicity tour. At that moment, she was reading a book to a class of kindergarteners."

"Then whose laptop was it?"

"I was downloading the hotel security footage before you called me." He said, anxiously rubbing his palms along his jeans. "It should be done by now."

" _Go_." Olivia motioned him to leave. "Someone get me every person on her detail and every person working for her on this trip that has been with the administration since 2012."

Everybody scrambled to their jobs, and Olivia slipped into her office to call Fitz's hospital. She checked with the security to make sure extra personnel would be at the entry points to his wing. She didn't want anybody slipping into his work space or office and trying to get information on him. She also didn't want him to notice that anything was different.

"I have someone." Huck yelled from his office. Everybody dropped what they were doing to hover over his shoulder. "Him." He pointed to a South American man who was seen leaving the hotel room. The timestamp was minutes after the leak.

"Why isn't security stopping him?" Quinn asked.

"We need to ID him." Olivia said, turning to Abbey.

"David. Q-R facial recognition. On it."

"Thank you." Olivia said. "How did he get in? Does he have the security detail's approval?"

"I have kept rewinding the footage to when she left that morning, but I can't find anything." Huck scrubbed back and forth through the footage from when the première dame left that morning.

"Wait…" Olivia took over the mouse and scrolled to the previous night. At 10:38 the première dame retired to her room. Fifteen minutes later, the mysterious man appeared, being nodded in by her detail. "They were having an affair."

/

"David." Abbey smiled as she entered his office and shut the door behind her. He was neck deep in legal documents with highlighters and sticky notes decorating any exposed page.

"I would be naïve to think that you are stopping by to—I don't know—check up on me or bring me lunch, wouldn't I?"

"How is work?" Abbey sat against his desk and pulled his hands away from his work.

"What do you want?" He sighed.

"To surprise my boyfriend in the middle of the day to brighten his boring job." She leaned in to kiss him slowly and deliberately.

"Really. What do you want?" He eyed her suspiciously, but made no move to pull away.

"I need to borrow your Q-R software."

"Abbey—"

"I can't explain it, but it is _really_ important." She begged.

"Let me guess. If I don't risk my job by lending government software to a private firm, then World War III will start."

"Well the nation of France is at risk in this case, so…" Abbey cocked her head in thought. "That could actually be a possibility here."

"No." He swiveled back to his work.

"David, please." Abbey slid onto his lap, pulling the papers out of his hand and putting them back on his desk. "This isn't for OPA. This is for my best friend who is being framed for an international scandal that she has nothing to do with."

"The same best friend that pulls you out of my bed at all odd hours of the night."

"… Yes. That one." She grimaced.

"You realize that I don't even like Liv, right? I don't consider her a friend. If anything, she is the biggest thorn in my professional and aforementioned personal life. I don't even _like_ her in person. She is kind of rude. "

"Yet, you call her Liv." Abbey raised an eyebrow. "And what I admire about you the most is that you are right and good. You stand up for justice. Liv is having her daughter being dragged through the news for something that she didn't do is not right. Help us get to the bottom of this."

"I should be receiving a check for all of the work I do for your firm." He groaned as he logged into his secure computer. Abbey inserted her jump drive and pulled up the picture. After a few moments and clicking of David's mouse, a name popped up.

"Thanks, babe." She kissed him hastily before grabbing her purse and leaving.

"Hey! It was nice catching up with you too." He called sarcastically, but by then she was out of the door.

"I probably won't be home for dinner tonight, but I will make you one hell of feast whenever I do make it home." She peeked her head back in before leaving.

"Damn right." He retorted.

/

"Santino Correa" Abbey pinned a picture to the wall. The man was strikingly handsome, with a strong jaw line and wavy brown hair. "Born in Concordia, dirt poor near the Uruguay border. At the age of 16 he moved to Sao Paolo to work for InterCorps, an international humanitarian organization as an errand boy. His boss, the founder James Pantino promoted him through the ranks over their 22 years of working together, until he was his right hand man. Pantino died last November."

"How did he die?" Olivia asked.

"Heart attack. At 65 years old. No children interested in his organization, naturally, Correa took over. Along with a sizable chunk of his will."

"He is one of the wealthier men in the charity business." Abbey pinned photos of him on a yacht and doing various activities reserved for the 1%.

"When did they meet?" Olivia asked.

"We have no idea of knowing for sure. Their first and only official meeting was back in 2013, when she spoke with him on a panel about water safety at a humanitarian summit. They sat four seats from each other. Either they were strangers or trained actors deserving of an Oscar. Nobody would guess."

Olivia paced back and forth in front of the première dame's picture. "Right now, she is the loose cannon."

"Should we tell the President of her affair?"

"No. Right now his office is scrambling for damage control. The last thing we need is to make him angry or volatile. He will try to suppress her, and she will only retaliate further."

"So is this all a plan to make it plausible for her to divorce him? An affair would make the people side with her, and ruin his political capital." Marcus asked.

"That's the most obvious answer." Abbey said, glancing through some papers. "But that doesn't—"

"Seem right." Olivia finished her sentence, staring deeply into the eyes of Correa's picture. "The first thing we need to do is reach out to the première dame. She can't make a public announcement—not yet."

"Well, we have a ticking time bomb there. At any moment, she could talk to the press." Marcus commented.

"I doubt she would know how to access the Palace's security footage like that." Quinn thought out loud. "There had to be a reason why Correa released it while she was out of her hotel room."

Olivia nodded in agreement. "Let's get to the bottom of why she had Correa release the footage himself."

"I can hack his accounts." Huck offered. "See if he was paid off by someone else."

"Quinn, schedule a trip to Buenos Aires for the day after tomorrow. She's there until the end of the week. We need to find everything we can by tonight, before we confront her. We need to be one step ahead."

"Who all is going?" Quinn asked.

"I can't." Olivia groaned. "Alex." She explained. "Abbey and Marcus, can I trust you on this?"

"Of course." Abbey said, and Marcus nodded in agreement.

"Let me call the French President and let him know of our news and game plan." Olivia began to retreat to her office. "Everybody get to work."

/

 **THE NEXT NIGHT**

Olivia rubbed lotion between her hands, massaging her legs. She heard Fitz finish brushing his teeth in the bathroom, before joining her in bed. She was silent, aware of his presence, but lost in her own thoughts. Her team had yet to pull up anything else. Correa's bank account was clean. Huck and Quinn couldn't find any unofficial correspondence between the première dame and Correa. There was no other evidence corroborating their affair, other than a late night visit the night before. They spent an entire day and a half spinning wheels. As of now, they were going in blind. The plane left at 7:12 the next morning, and Olivia was praying to any higher power that their bluff didn't crumble.

Fitz leaned over to kiss her shoulder. Then her neck. Then deeper into the spots that normally made her melt into his arms. But she just sat there, rubbing her legs that had already soaked up all of the lotion.

"Sorry." Fitz fell back onto his elbow. "You must be so tired… I understand if you aren't in the mood."

Olivia let a moment of silence pass between them. She was still quietly rubbing her hands along her legs.

"Livvie?" He touched her wrist softly, making her stop.

"I want to talk about what you said to me the other night." She didn't mean to say those words, but the work situation was eating her alive. She needed a change of mindset, and unfortunately that was the second thing on her mind.

"When?" Fitz raised his eyebrows, sitting up fully.

"Last night." Olivia turned to face him. "When we fought."

"Shit… I was angry, I don't even remember what I said."

"You asked me if I cheated on you because I didn't think you were _enough_."

"Liv—"

"You felt that I wasn't being ambitious enough by dating you and that I would be more attracted to someone of a higher status."

"I didn't say that." Fitz stammered, but Olivia raised her eyebrows to press further.

"Did you mean it?"

"No."

"Fitz?"

"No." Fitz put his hand on her knee. "I was angry and confused. So many things were whirling around the apartment and I had no explanation that I lashed out."

"Do you feel like you aren't enough for me?"

"Olivia, I already told you—"

"I don't care if you were angry when you said it or were under pressure, but you still said it. Answer me."

Fitz sighed, tapping his thumb against her knee cap. "Sometimes. Sometimes I feel like you are just from another circle. You have heads of states on speed dial. Your idea of date night is going to the White House for a State Dinner."

"I warned you of who I was before we started dating. I told you to make sure that you were in this, because I am not normal and I will never be normal."

"This is not a deal breaker." Fitz kissed her cheek and leaned back against the pillow.

"But you feel that way." Olivia persisted, looking over at him. "You feel inadequate enough to believe that I would cheat on you."

"I was angry." Fitz sighed, staring at the ceiling. "Please don't hold me to what I said when I was angry."

Olivia knew that he was being overprotective of himself. Even if he didn't _mean_ what he said, he still had those sentiments somewhere inside himself. She slid under the covers and curled into his side. His arm automatically pulled her closer, patting her hip, even if his eyes remained trained to the ceiling.

"You know that I would never cheat on you." Olivia whispered. The lights were out, but she could still see the vague outline of his features from the bedside alarm clock.

"I know that, Livvie." He remained stoic, staring straight ahead. He could feel Olivia's eyes on him even in the dark. She was concerned about him, and he couldn't keep from her. "I know that you wouldn't cheat on me. I just got so worked up at the possibility—when I found out Mellie was cheating on me… that was the worst day of my life. I knew our marriage was becoming distant, but seeing it materialize right there in a concrete extramarital affair hurt me. I guess it was a wakeup call to how naïve I can be in relationships."

"I'm sorry." Olivia whispered, pulling his hand to her lips.

"The worst part is that I love you so much, I don't even know how to keep my head above water. I feel like I am way too in love with you, that if you were to hurt me I wouldn't see it coming."

Olivia felt a tear roll down her cheek. She wondered if he could feel it touch his chest after it left her chin. "I would never intentionally hurt you." Olivia whispered. She brought her hand to his cheek, tracing along his jaw in the darkness.

"But it could happen unintentionally."

Olivia sat up, facing him. She put a hand on his chest, right over his heart. She could feel his chest pounding. Even if he wasn't showing it, he was terrified. He had so many insecurities, it killed her. She didn't know how to show him her love for him. She knew this wasn't just about him being scared by the French president scandal. "Does this have to do with our conversation about marriage?" She knew it was too late to be pulling out difficult subjects, but she couldn't sleep with the millions of questions swirling her brain.

Fitz sat up, finally looking at her. "Do you see yourself remarrying?"

"I don't know." Olivia swallowed hard. He just laid it all on the table, and now it was her turn. "I loved Jake. He was such a good husband and friend. We were… like a team."

Fitz tensed up at her speaking of him lovingly, but he let her finish. For her to talk about Jake at all meant that she was opening up to him—and that was rare. She never talked about Jake.

"That is why I hate thinking about him. No matter how hard I try, I can't negate that I loved him while we were married. And looking back—I really hate him. I am glad he is dead. The only thing that makes me glad that we even laid eyes on each other is the fact that I have Alex. But other than that, I wish he never knocked my phone out of my hand in that coffee shop. And I hate how he messes with me to this day—even after he is dead."

Fitz saw the panic and stress rise in her. He softly rubbed her thigh, encouraging her to finish.

"But he is the reason why I am so hesitant to think about marriage again. I know that you aren't him. And what I feel for you makes any other _love_ I have felt for anyone else pale in comparison. I know that what _we_ have is incredibly rare, and I don't want to lose it. But I don't want to put you in the same category as him. _Husband_. I just can't wrap my mind around it."

Fitz stared at the ceiling, his hand stilled against her thigh. She could tell that no matter how honest and well-meaning she was still hurting him with her words. She laid back down, resting her head on his chest. "That doesn't mean that I don't love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to be a presence in Alex's life. I—I just need you to be patient with me."

They laid there in silence, unsure what to say to each other. They were both too vulnerable to comfort one another, and even if they weren't neither knew how to comfort the other. Fitz took her hand in his, squeezing it against his chest. Olivia hooked her leg in between his, trying to connect their bodies as much as possible.

/

Fitz woke up to an empty bed. He was honestly confused as to why Olivia acted the way she did the night before. Why did she insist on having such a difficult conversation, amidst her own separate crisis?

He was more perplexed by how she was functioning so early. Alex was still asleep, but he heard her in the kitchen on the phone. The smell of coffee was strong as he got up and brushed his teeth. By the time he met her in the kitchen, he could tell that she was on her second cup of coffee. He kissed her cheek, careful not to interrupt her phone call, as he poured his own cup.

"And you couldn't get through to their private phones?" Olivia asked. Stress was evident all across her body language. "And there was nothing there." Olivia repeated, sighing heavily.

Fitz assumed that she was on the phone with Huck. How he got the invasive information from his computer, Fitz had no idea, but he knew that Huck was an essential part to how OPA operated.

"Well, I guess we go in blind." Olivia pressed her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose. "Okay. Thank you for trying." She hung up.

"Good morning." Fitz said softly.

"Good—hold on." Her fingers were already dialing a new number. "Marcus… Okay, you heard." She was silent for a moment, "You need to be one thousand percent more careful now. We can't bust in accusing her of an affair that we have no proof of. Nothing would be worse than that."

Another elongated beat of silence.

"My gut says that she is having an affair." Olivia said honestly. "I just feel like we are missing key pieces to this puzzle."

Fitz heard a faint voice on the other end of her cell phone.

"Okay. Have Abbey call me when you land." She hung up her phone, all but threw it onto the kitchen countertop. "Fuck." She mumbled under her breath.

"Hi." Fitz whispered, pulling her from her trance.

"Hi." She offered back weakly. "I'm sorry about last night." She let him pull her body against his.

"Don't be." He kissed her lips briefly. "We both said some things that we needed to say."

"I shouldn't have unloaded—"

"I don't regret it." He cut her off, causing the left corner of her mouth to curve upwards. That was enough victory for him. "And you neither should you. You have a busy day ahead of you."

"Okay." She accepted, nodding to the own thoughts in her head. "Did I wake you? I was trying to be quiet."

"I think it was a combination of the coffee and the cold left side of the bed." Fitz smiled, sipping from his mug.

/

Quinn watched her boss pace intensely about the conference room. Marcus and Abbey were supposed to be meeting with the première dame any second now. "On a level of 1-10—"

"12." Olivia cut her off. "That is the level of stress right now." She braced her two hands against the conference table, in a death stare with the telephone on the table. "Where is Huck?"

"I don't know." Quinn admitted. "He hasn't turned in yet."

"This doesn't feel right." Olivia grabbed the phone in front of her, dialing a number so fast, Quinn thought she might smash the phone. "Marcus?"

"Yes?" His voice came through the speaker.

"Where are you?"

"In the elevator, going up to her suite."

"Stop. Abort. Turn around and leave."

"What? Are you crazy?" He accused. "We are almost steps from her door."

"I don't care. Turn around." She demanded.

"Why? What did you find out?"

"Nothing. I just don't have a good feeling about this." She heard him speak out of range to Abbey, who grabbed the phone from him.

"Liv, what the hell is going on here?"

"Turn around. Right now."

"What are we supposed to do now?"

"I don't _know_." Olivia snapped. "Go grab some coffee. Eat some authentic Argentinian food. Just lay low for now until I give orders."

"But—" Abbey protested.

"I said _leave._ " Olivia jammed the end call button, leaving Quinn in confused silence.

"But we had a plan—"

"That won't work anymore." Olivia hung up and began pacing again, with her palm to her forehead. " _God_ , what was I thinking? Going into a room with the wife of the French President, accusing her of an affair with no proof. Where the fuck is Huck?! I just…"

"Have something!" Huck called from the door. Olivia had never seen him break a sprint, but he was booking it to the conference room. He slammed his laptop onto the table, opening his laptop and revealing a grainy security film. It was the summit's green room. First she is in there but—"

"I can see for myself." Olivia snapped. She watched intently as Huck hyped the speed until Correa entered. They were immediately embraced, making out like teenagers behind the bleachers at prom.

"Damn." Quinn commented.

"This changes everything." Olivia was immediately pacing with her eyes glued to the laptop, but the phone was dialed. "Turn around. We have something. Huck will send it to your phone."

"But we are already downstairs."

"I don't give a fuck. Hope your ass in that elevator."

"Too late." Marcus called.

"What do you mean too late?" Olivia asked.

"She's on the move. To the airport."

Quinn held out her phone to Olivia's view. "Her people are setting up a podium in Paris. She's cutting her Argentina trip short."

" _Intercept her plane_." Olivia said into the phone. "She can't get off of that plane at De Galle."

"We can't just—"

" _Do it._ " Olivia yelled, slamming the end call button again. She cursed under her breath, before dialing them back.

"Olivia what the fuck—"

"Shut up and listen to me. Have you called a cab yet?"

"Marcus is right now."

"I will try my best to delay her from here. The second you get to the airport, say you are working for the French President. I will pull his connections to give you access. When you get to meet with her, don't mention the president's name. Say you are working for me. That should get her attention. _Please_ , I swear to God, _please_ , appear on her side. Make sure that she knows that we are on her side as much as his. The evidence that Marcus should be receiving on his phone any second now is explicit footage of her and Correa at the summit. If push comes to shove, make it clear that we will use this footage as weaponry to expose her as a vindictive bitch pinning her husband's infidelity on innocent women to allow her divorce. _Use that as your last resort_. But get to the bottom of this. Please." Olivia begged. "Text me when you are in contact with her."

"You taught us well. Consider it handled." Abbey said before hanging up.

Olivia picked up the phone and dialed the French office, so that her call would be private. "Good afternoon, Mr. President." Her tone was automatically different, in polite and cordial manner. "I need a favor—yes, we are close to finishing this… That's flattering to hear… But, yes, I need a timely favor. Can you delay your wife's plane from Bueno Aires?"

Quinn and Huck waited uncomfortably to hear Olivia's response.

"No, it's crucial… I swear, however bad it might seem to the press on your part, my team will work tirelessly to counter that image to the press… _Thank you_. I promise, we won't disappoint. I will let you know when to lift your ban." She hung up, taking a deep breath.

"Well?" Quinn asked.

"The president is having his team fabricate technical difficulties on the plane. That will keep her grounded until Marcus and Abbey can reach her. Then it is up to them."

"Is it too early to start drinking?" Quinn asked.

"I have whiskey in my office." Huck began to retreat.

"No offense, but I have some better quality scotch in my office." Olivia retreated to her office and returned with a canter that she only reserved for Fitz on special occasions.

/

"Why is her plane just sitting there?" Abbey asked as her and Marcus jogged across the tarmac.

"Liv must've found a way to delay their flight." He said, struggling to keep up with Abbey.

"No entry." A guard stood firmly in front of them.

"Nous avons une réunion d'urgence avec la première dame." Marcus said in perfect French.

"No entry." He repeated.

"Uh… Do you speak English?" Abbey asked.

The guard shook his head, but his companion next to him nodded slightly.

"Get a message to the première dame that we are working for Olivia Pope. It is crucial that we have a word with her."

The guard glanced over at his French speaking companion, who was obviously in charge. After a long second, the first guard nodded, giving him the permission to relay the message to the special passenger. He pressed his earpiece and spoke into the cuff of his military uniform in quiet French.

"I could have said that in French." Abbey Marcus muttered under her breath. "Four years of college French down the drain.

Seconds later, the steps to the plane unfolded. A guard stood at the top and motioned for them to ascend. The two guards frisked them for weapons or wires before giving them the clear signal.

"Follow my lead." Abbey whispered to Marcus as they began to climb the steps. Abbey had never flown on Airforce One—unlike Olivia, who refused to spill any details whenever she did—but Abbey imagined it wasn't as nice as the jet they were on. The walls were dark mahogany with gold detailing. Art work hung on the sides of the cabins from famous French painters. Marcus let out a low whistle, earning an elbow from Abbey as a guard led them past several rooms to the première dame's office.

"Madame, Les gens du bureau d'Olivia Pope." The guard announced.

"Merci." The première dame said, hidden behind a large newspaper. She motioned for everybody to leave the room, except for Abbey and Marcus. For a long second, she finished the article and set the newspaper down. She was even more beautiful in person, removing her glasses from her slender nose and setting them on the table. She was wearing a black wrap dress that fit her like a tailored Chanel glove.

"Bonjour, Madame." Abbey began. "Mon nom est Abbey Whelan, et c'est mon collègue Marcus Walker. Nous sommes ici au nom de Olivia Pope."

"We can talk in English, if that is easier." She extended her hand, shaking each, and motioning for them to have a seat in the plush velvet chairs across from her. "I know how the American education system fails to teach other languages. Plus, I'm sure that you are aware of my Master's degree from Columbia. No need to hurt yourselves, trying to be polite."

"Thank you." Abbey said as they were seated.

"My husband has bitterly grounded this plane despite some very important appointments of mine. I hope you don't mind if you tell your boss to tell him that we can take off? My people can arrange travel plans for you to get back to the States after we land in Paris."

Marcus pulled out his phone and sent her requests to Olivia. "Done. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Well?" She raised her eyebrows and leaned back in her chair. "What do you want? And please be forward. Despite my ornamental role in French politics, I do have work to do."

"We know that you are planning to announce divorce once we land." Abbey began, taking the lead.

"Smart." She commented.

"And I think everybody in this room knows that Olivia Pope is not your husband's mistress."

"I don't believe everything I see in the news."

"And it is important that you know that we are not here on behalf of your husband. Our mission is to defend our boss and make sure that everybody benefits from this situation."

"Noted."

"If you make a statement announcing divorce, it will only strengthen the accusations against Olivia. You get what you want, but at the price of an incredible woman losing all professional credibility. Olivia can take it, but she has a family who should not be dragged into it." Abbey felt the plane start to taxi down the runway.

The pilot came over the intercom, asking them to buckle their seat belts and announcing landing times.

"I am sorry to hear about Ms. Pope's predicament, but unfortunately I have made up my mind." She sipped her lemon water before continuing. "I am divorcing that bastard."

"We understand, but maybe—" Marcus began, but she cut him off.

"It would waste your time for me to rant about the tropes of a bored wife, tired of seeing her philandering husband gaining all of the respect in the world. Yes, I believe you when you say that your boss was not the subject to my husband's _escapades_ , but there have been many. I am too old to put up with it anymore. Am I sorry that your boss got caught up in this? Yes. I wish it wasn't ruining the reputation of a fine person, but unfortunately we are here."

Abbey's eyes narrowed, noting how flippant the woman in front of her was about Olivia's predicament. It was time to bring out the ammo. "That narrative only works if the man is the one fooling around. While I don't know of your husband's personal life, I do know that when the wife is not faithful as well, there is a bit of hypocrisy at play."

"You are making some lofty accusations here." She warned in an entirely new tone. By now, the plane was in the air, and the city of Buenos Aires was becoming smaller and smaller through the cabin windows.

"We wouldn't be doing so without proof." Marcus pulled his tablet out of his briefcase. "Press play."

She took the tablet and pressed play, watching the footage of her and her lover. Her face remained still like marble—just her eyes darted across the screen. She showed no emotions as she watched the clip in its entirety. "Who has seen this?" She asked calmly as she handed the tablet back.

"Just Olivia." Marcus said, putting away his tablet.

"So I'm assuming this changes the game?" Abbey asked, trying to hide her smugness.

"What is your plan if it doesn't, Ms. Whelan?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms.

Abbey could tell that she was panicking on the inside. Her back was against the wall, and now she was on the defensive. It was time to use that to her advantage. "If we cannot reach an agreement by the time the plane lands, I'm afraid that I will have to alert Olivia, and our tech guy will send it to every international press across the globe. I imagine that the networks will use a split screen to show your press conference and this footage at the same time."

"But we don't want that." Marcus said, trying to take the edge off of the direction of their conversation. "Like we said earlier, we are here to protect the interests of our boss, and make sure that everybody is happy at the end of the day."

"And my husband? What he wants is for me to stand by his side. That is not what I want. How do you and your magical firm fix that? Because trying to convince me to stay would only prove your naivety."

"We are unconcerned with your husband's outcome." Marcus said. "Any work he has hired our firm for does not extend to this case. He is not our client anymore. You are."

"And yet he delayed the plane for you?" She raised her eyebrows. "Is he privy to the conversation on this plane? And the footage?"

"That was more of Olivia pulling a favor." Abbey smirked. "We have not told him of the footage, and that can remain so."

She leaned back, sipping her water and looking between each of them.

"What do you want?" Marcus asked, taking the lead. Abbey had established herself as the hard ass, so he had to reel in the rest.

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't we start with what you want, and then we can work towards a mutually beneficial situation."

She pondered for a moment. "I want a divorce."

"Okay, we can—" Abbey started.

"Let me finish." She cut her off. "I want a divorce. That is step one. It should be noted that I want a divorce so favorable that the people take my side. I don't care what they think of him, but I want to be clean. Next step—and, yes, there are many steps to this, because no matter how badly you can tank my reputation with that video, I can do much worse for your boss. The next step is public office."

"You want to run for office?"

"I want to be president." She corrected. "I have practically been running this country for my husband. He is handsome and exceptionally skilled with kissing babies, but who do you think navigated the Iranian crisis? Him with his daddy's money? Or me with a PhD in international relations? I am sure that the second I leave his sorry ass, he will crash and burn politically. But I won't be worried about that. Because a respectable amount of time after our divorce—which will happen—I will begin to publicly date an Argentinian humanitarian. Two years later we will marry, and I will be ripe for the picking of the highest office in our beautiful country."

"You want power." Abbey corrected.

"Doesn't everybody?" She took another sip from her water glass. Abbey began to wonder if it was water or vodka. "So I answered your question. Now it is your turn. What can you do for me?"

"I'm sure that you are familiar with our boss, Olivia Pope. If for some reason you weren't before this scandal broke, I'm sure that you have familiarized yourself with the mountains she can move." Abbey was on a roll. "She not only moves mountains, she alters the rest of the world to fit that mountain. A divorce is child's play to us. You will get your divorce, and you will emerge victorious from it. The president part? Well, you have established yourself in this room, at least, to be more than capable and ambitious to get yourself there by your own doing. However, we will tirelessly work by your side to ensure your success."

"That's a lofty claim for an outsider to French politics."

"Wikipedia who the campaign manager for the sitting American president was." Abbey smirked. "We specialize in press and media. Anything you want to break on your opponent, we will make sure that every Frenchman and woman wake up to that with their morning cappuccino and beignet."

"Ms. Pope's reputation does precede her."

"The networks are already waiting at your podium, so an announcement is mandatory." Abbey admitted. "So the divorce announcement must happen—we won't prolong that. But before you even mention the divorce, you must clear Olivia's name. Say it is preposterous, and you are grateful for her service to the French government, and admire her professionally. That will help your image already with women's empowerment."

The pemière dame pressed a button on the switchboard in the corner of her desk. She spoke so fast into it, that the only part Marcus picked up was the name of an expensive French champagne. She kept a smirk on her face until an attendant entered with the aforementioned bottle of champagne and three glasses.

"Merci." She said as the attendant poured three glasses, offering one to Marcus and Abbey.

"Deal." She said after the attendant exited. She held her glass forward for a clinking toast, but Marcus held his hand out, stopping Abbey.

"Someone as smart as you should know the importance of contract binding deals. We will draft up an official agreement."

She pulled back her flute. "My apologies. But for now, would a ceremonic toast do? Forgive us French for using sentimentality as an excuse to drink."

"To that." Abbey held out her glass, and Marcus followed. They each drank to the new agreement.

"If you excuse me, I must find my words for this evening's press." The première dame swiveled her chair back to her chair. "I will have you stay in the first suite. I know it is a long flight, but if I must endure it, I guess you should too. Unless, you find skydiving over the Atlantic as a better alternative."

"The first suite is perfect." Abbey beamed as she stood. "But you have more important work. I will have Olivia draft your statement for you."

"Even better." She smiled, leaning back into her chair.

"We just need the wifi password." Marcus asked, checking his tablet.

/

"Fucking _YES._ " Olivia exclaimed as she saw a notification on her laptop.

"What?" Quinn practically jumped out of her seat. They were each several glasses of scotch deep, sitting in Olivia's office. At least, Huck and Quinn were sitting on the couch. Olivia was sitting criss-cross on the carpet, checking her laptop over the last three hours. All they knew was that they were on the plane. Whether they got any correspondence over the next 13 hours was unknown.

"They reached a deal. Hold on… Marcus is skyping me." She turned her laptop around so that everybody was in the frame. "What?" She asked in her usual impatience.

Abbey's face appeared, dominating the frame. "She is going to proclaim that you are not his mistress."

Olivia sighed deeply, relaxing back against the coffee table. "That's it?"

"Not exactly." Marcus stole the tablet from Abbey. "We need to draft a statement for her. That you are obviously not engaged at any sexual activities with his presidency, and—hold on." Marcus shifted the camera to the ceiling as an attendant appeared in the corner, pouring wine. "Merci." Marcus said as the attendant left. "Sorry about that—"

"Hold on—Is that a 1994 Du Bellay?"

"Yeah, she just sent over a bottle for us."

"Jealous." Olivia remarked.

"Are you drunk?" Abbey asked, stealing back the tablet. "Never mind, don't answer that. So turns out, that she wants to be the French president. All these years, she's been advising him on major international issues, and now she wants her seat at the table. We settled on her clearing your name, as long as we facilitate her inevitable divorce and help her with her rise to power."

Olivia bowed her head into her hand, sighing deeply. "We can work with that."

"Are you not happy?" Abbey asked.

"No, I'm ecstatic." Olivia smiled. "Excuse me, I'm just so relieved that it is all settled. Good work, Abbey."

"It was actually Marcus who tied it together in the end. Did you know that he is fluent in French?" Abbey panned the camera to show Marcus's smiling face.

"I didn't." Olivia laughed. "Thank you. But your work isn't done. Draft the press statement. Send it to me, and I'll proof it. Then make sure she is okay with it."

"Aye aye, Cap'n." Marcus saluted.

"And if there is a second bottle of that Du Bellay lying around, steal it for me. That is fine shit you are sipping. Don't spill it."

"We won't disappoint."

/

Olivia was watching the mundane 24-hour coverage of the empty press podium, waiting for the première dame's arrival. Her plane didn't land for another 5 hours, but Olivia couldn't bring herself to go home yet. Alex's nanny dropped her off, and she was talking gibberish to herself on the floor, playing imaginary games with her stuffed animals.

"Liv?" Quinn peeked her head in her office. "Is it cool if I head out now?"

"Yeah, of course. Have a good night."

"Same to you." Quinn said, before leaving.

Olivia sat there, running the past couple of days through her head. Something still seemed off about the case. Yes, everything miraculously worked out, but the more she researched Correa, the more her gut conflicted with the facts.

"Huck." She called down the hall. He came out of his office. "Come here for a second."

"Yeah?" He asked.

"How did you get the footage from the conference? I thought you said that all of the security footage had been destroyed."

"I, uh, called in a favor." He shifted back and forth.

"With who?"

"An old acquaintance." He was strangely not making eye contact.

"Huck?" She searched his face.

"Don't worry about it."

"Was this acquaintance illegal?"

"Don't worry. I was safe."

"Huck…" Olivia knew that before she hired him, he did many illegal cyber hacking jobs. He was a part of a ring of untraceable hackers, until a client of his slipped up and turned him in to save his own ass. That was how they met—Olivia helped him reduce his sentence and took him in afterwards.

"You don't have to worry about me."

"Please don't do that again. I don't want you to be owing any favors to anybody."

"Okay. Do you need anything else?"

"No." Olivia was slightly taken back by his change in behavior. "You can go home. Tomorrow, I want you to look into Correa deeper."

"Okay." Huck retreated to his office, and she heard him leave a couple of moments later.

/

Marcus walked up to the guard outside of her suite.

"J'ai la déclaration pour la première dame." He held up the piece of paper.

"Let him in." He heard her from behind the door, before the guard could respond. He nodded, opening the door and letting Marcus into her office.

"This is the first draft. Feel free to mark what you like and don't like, and we can work from there."

She took the paper, nudging her reading glasses up her nose to read them. Marcus began to back away to give her privacy, but she held her hand up, motioning for him to sit. After a minute of silence and her scribbling some things into the margin, she lowered the paper and removed her glasses.

"You speak French very well."

"Thank you." He smiled.

"Did you study abroad in college?"

"I spent a summer semester in Senegal doing undergraduate research, but most of my fluency comes from college classes."

"What did you research?"

"Post-colonial politics and international law. But I don't want to bore you with how your country, along with the rest of Europe, screwed over Africa." He joked.

"I won't hold you to your country's imperialism if you don't hold me to mine." She winked. She handed over the paper. "It looks good. I will try to catch some sleep in a couple of hours, so get me a second draft before then."

"Thank you." He rose, buttoning his suit jacket. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why Olivia?"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Her eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Why did you chose to release the footage of Olivia? Surely there are many other videos of women going in and out of his chambers late at night."

She was silent. Her head shifted back and forth in the slightest, barely shaking. "I didn't."

Marcus searched her face, realizing that she was telling the truth. The air was thick and awkward. "My apologies. We will get a second draft to you very shortly." He exited.

"Did she like it?" Abbey asked eagerly, the second he returned to their suite.

He silently handed her the revised draft, sitting next to her. His head fell into his hands as he thought through everything.

"This is perfect." Abbey said, checking out the corrections. "We just have to shift that around, and omit that—" She noticed Marcus distracted. "Marcus? What is wrong?"

"She didn't know about the leak." He stood and started pacing.

"What? How do you know?"

"I asked her why she chose to release the footage of Olivia, when there were many other women. She genuinely didn't know what I was talking about."

"Wait, that means that Correa was acting alone."


	11. Chapter 11

"This is not good." Quinn power walked to the conference room. She had barely had time to go home and shower, before Olivia called her back. Through their brief conversation, Olivia told her that Abbey called with the new revelation that Correa released the footage without the première dame's knowledge. Huck was already there, sitting at the conference room table on his laptop. "What do we know, exactly?"

"She didn't know of Correa's involvement with the release." Olivia said, pacing back and forth between the screenshots on the wall of him leaving the hotel room and the profile they pulled on him. "Which means that he was accessing her computer without her consent."

"Red flag number one." Huck said.

"Does she know what we know yet?" Quinn asked, trying to catch up to speed.

"No, we haven't told her yet. Her plane lands in four hours. So we need to figure out something quickly." Olivia walked over to Huck's station. "What are you working on?"

"I'm searching his bank accounts again to try to find any money flows in or out." Huck sighed. "He's clean."

"Let's walk this through objectively." Olivia backtracked. "We were originally hired to investigate any suspicious activities by her." She pointed the première dame's picture. "Our original suspicions about her ties to Moroccan militants fell through. We were wrong. There was nothing more than an off of the books meeting with one of the leaders. Other than that, she has made no moves to solidify that theory of political involvement. The video was released the day after I met with the president to tell him about our findings."

"Do you think that the release was more directed at you than the President?" Quinn asked.

"That doesn't fit. Correa has no interest or ties to the Moroccan/Algerian conflict." Olivia said. "But if he did it to move along the cracks in their marriage and thereafter divorce, then why didn't he tell her about it? They should've been a united front on it."

"Correa is one shady character." Quinn commented.

"Hold on." Huck typed so fast into his keyboard, Olivia wandered how the computer could keep up. "I knew it."

"What?"

"I should've seen this before." Huck kicked himself mentally. "James Pantino died of a heart attack."

"His former boss and mentor?" Olivia asked. "We already knew that. How does that pertain?"

"Not just any heart attack, a demand ischemia."

"Oh shit." Quinn circled the table to look at his computer screen.

"What am I missing?" Olivia asked, annoyed.

"This type of heart attack is one of the most common ways that hitmen take out hits to make it look like natural causes."

"How do you know this?" Olivia crossed her arms.

"Huck taught me." Quinn shrugged.

"There was no toxicology report and the autopsy was only half finished." Huck said as he scrolled through databases. "But if it was, there would be levels of oxidoreductases in his blood."

"So you are saying…" Olivia began, trying to wrap her mind around it all. "That Correa could have very easily had something to do with Pantino's death?"

"The evidence is here." Huck said.

"Are you sure?" She asked, seriously.

"It seems abstract, but… It's pretty obvious." He said. "I see stuff like this happen all of the time."

"Pantino died last November." Quinn pointed out. "Two months after Correa was rewritten into the will."

"Wait…" Huck pointed to his screen. "I missed this earlier. He opened an off-shore account two weeks before Pantino died. It had $10,000."

"That is way too small for an off-shore account." Olivia said, perplexed.

"The account was shut down a week after Pantino's death. No trace of where the money went, but it wasn't back into Correa's account." Huck pointed frantically to the evidence.

"That was the hitman's paycheck." Quinn said.

"So it was for the money." Olivia said. "But that still doesn't prove any connection to the footage being released."

"No, but it does prove Correa to be dirty, which could give some pause to the decision to declare for divorce."

Olivia paced some more. "If we come forward with this information to the première dame, she could completely retract. It could blow this whole plan back into our face."

"We have two and a half hours until her plane lands. The statement is one hour later." Quinn said. "We could just not tell her. Let everything go to plan. You get cleared, she gets her divorce."

Olivia shook her head in thought. "Everything Correa has done has been to gain money and power. He gained the billion dollar level inheritance. He gains influence if she ever gets elected to the presidential office." She reached for her tablet, skype calling Abbey. "And that would not be right."

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked.

"If we—" Abbey's face appeared on her screen. "Hey, is Marcus there?"

"Right here." He popped into frame. "Did you find anything out?"

"Correa had a hand in Pantino's death, with the inheritance as a motive."

"Well damn." Abbey said.

"We think that his relationship with her is a power play. He wants her to be president, so that he can have power there. Releasing the video was just to speed the process up, whether she was on board or not."

"So what do we do now?" Abbey asked.

"We could say nothing, facilitate the divorce and our work is done, because I am cleared." Olivia said, obviously conflicted. "But that isn't right. We need to present our information to her, so she can make a decision."

Marcus raised his eyebrows. "You want us to just waltz in there and tell her that her lover of four years has been playing her? That we don't approve of their relationship? Liv, what do you want, for them to break up?"

"She deserves to know." Olivia said in a tone that told him not to question her judgment. "I will do it. Put me on a skype call with her."

"Uh, she's taking a nap right now." Abbey said. "I don't really want to be the one to convince the guard to wake her."

"I don't care." Olivia said. "Do it, and call me once she agrees to speak with me." She hung up, giving them no option but to follow through. Once the screen went black, Olivia went into motion, setting up the tablet to take a professional business call. "Sit over there." She commanded Huck and Quinn to sit opposite of her. "And don't make a word."

She waited for what seemed like eternity, until an incoming call came from Abbey. She answered, and was face to face with the French première dame.

"Bonjour." She said flatly. "Your team tells me that we have a very crucial conversation to have."

"Yes, and I am very sorry to wake you, but it is important that we speak before you land."

"I prefer that you cut straight to the point." She raised her eyebrow. "So?"

"Were you aware that Correa released the footage of me leaving your husband's chambers from your computer?"

"I was not." She said, honestly.

"The leak came from your personal computer while you were touring a school on Sunday. Hotel security footage shows him leaving your hotel room minutes later."

"What does that matter?" She was shaken, but trying to appear cool and collected.

"We did some further digging into Correa, and found irrefutable evidence of his involvement in Pantino's death."

"What? That doesn't make sense." She rejected. "Santino loved him. He owed his life to him. He was in London when Pantino died, there was no way—"

"Correa was written into his will a month before his death. $10,000 disappeared from an offshore account in his name shortly after his death."

"I, uh—"She stuttered. Even Olivia could see the tear forming in her left eye. "Are you sure?"

Olivia nodded. "Pantino's heart attack is consistent with many other cases of stealthy assassinations." She gave a pause, before continuing. "We wanted to let you know of this information, before publicly declaring for divorce."

"Is this all a move to make me stay with my husband?" She accused, becoming defensive.

"Not at all. We will support you no matter what." Olivia said, before dropping her professional tone. "It would have been easier for us to withhold this information. But if we are going to make you France's first president, then you deserve to know everything about everybody who will be by your side. If you really want to be president, then you deserve to do it on your own, with no snakes in your garden."

"The announcement is in three hours." The première dame checked her watch. "This is a hell of a deadline."

"We can postpone the announcement. Reroute the plane to go to Nice. Visit your mother. We will spin it in the media, so that you are seeking counsel from family."

"I will take all of this into consideration." She said, composed again. "It was nice to speak with you."

The screen went black before Olivia could get a solid answer.

/

"Where are you going?" Abbey asked, as Marcus rose. They were on edge, as the première dame bluntly dismissed them after the skype call ended. They had no idea what she was thinking.

"I've got to pee. Relax." Marcus said, as he left to try to find the bathroom. He asked an attendant, who led him to the restroom. While he was doing his business, he heard the première dame's voice through the wall. The wall must have been pretty thin, because he heard a good portion of her phone conversation.

"How the hell could you do this?" Marcus translated from her angry French. "We had a plan. No, you agreed that we would wait until we had real proof… Instead you went and ruined a good woman's reputation… Santino, _no_. You don't get to say that now… Then how do you explain the half complete autopsy of Pantino? I don't believe _anything_ you are saying right now."

Marcus washed his hands quickly, trying not to miss anymore of her conversation. She was silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. It had an emotion that he had yet to hear from her. "You wouldn't… Santino, no. You are bluffing."

Marcus finished drying his hands. When he exited the restroom, he didn't expect to see her standing there. She had her back against the room she had just made the phone call in. At first, she didn't see him, her cheeks were tear stained and her head was leaned back, eyes closed. Marcus was taken off guard, trying to quietly pass her without her noticing.

"He is going to go public with our relationship." She whispered, right when Marcus thought he had made it into the clear. He turned around to see her watching him silently.

He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and offered it to her. "What proof does he have?"

"We have private phones that we communicate to each other with. He has texts. Late night phone calls. A few pictures."

"What is he asking for in exchange for his silence?"

"Nothing concrete." She held her palm to her forehead in frustration. "But who knows what he will want once I gain political power of my own."

"Here. You should sit down." Marcus opened the door back to her office, taking a seat next to her. "We can work this out for you."

"You can make an entirely too sexist country forgive explicit photos from a woman who wants to hold public office? Olivia Pope is good, but not that good."

"You want a divorce, regardless of Correa, right?"

She nodded her head.

"Looking at this objectively, Correa wants you to get a divorce. That jumpstarts your political career, and gives him more power."

"Which can't happen." She sighed, sliding her head into her hands, hunching over. "Goddammit. Why does every man I fall in love end up screwing me over in the long run?"

"Hey," Marcus said sternly, pulling her wrist away from her face, so that she could see him. He knew he was probably overstepping some bounds, but he had to get through to her. "You can either feel sorry for yourself, or you can get smart. And you are smart enough to overcome this. Politics are personal and messy, but we can help navigate this."

"What do you suggest?" She sat up straighter, using his handkerchief to dab her eyes again.

"We can take care of Correa, I can guarantee that. What makes OPA so good, is that 90% of what we accomplish is things that the public never knows about. You need to buy time with him. I don't care what you tell, just make him satisfied and quiet. It is best that you go ahead and make an announcement, so that he thinks that you are committed to his plan."

"And you will make sure that these pictures never get out?"

"We will try our best." He said honestly. If there was one thing that Olivia beat into his head, was never to promise that everything will be okay. "But our best is the best in the damn game."

She smiled for the first time, taking a deep, steadying breath. "What do you need from me?"

"Is his private phone the same make as yours?"

"Yes. We bought them for this sole purpose. They are encoded the same."

"I will need your phone, once you finish speaking with him. Any information you have about him that is personal is also welcomed. Other than that, the plane lands in—" He checked his watch. "—an hour and a half. So you should probably freshen up for the press conference. You haven't gotten much sleep on this plane."

She stood, and he followed suit. "Thank you." She handed him back his handkerchief, squeezing his hands in hers. "Tell your boss that everything will go as originally planned, as long as she can deliver on her promise."

"Send an attendant over with the phone once you are done." He nodded, exiting.

/

It was nearly three in the morning when Olivia got the call from Marcus with the updates. The phrase _you'll sleep when you are dead_ never meant more to her. Marcus read Huck all of the details of the phone, so Huck could figure out the phone to try to access the incriminating info on it.

They were assured by the première dame that Correa was placated for now. But the clock was still ticking. She was going to publicly declare for divorce in two hours, clearing Olivia's name. Olivia couldn't even worry about the President's reaction to the news right now. She would notify his people thirty minutes before the statement, so that technically she could say that she warned him in advance. But now she was focused on her new client. And making sure everything didn't blow back on them.

"I got his phone." Huck said with a cheer. "Let's see what this bastard has."

Olivia and Quinn huddled over his shoulder to look at the content.

"Oh, God." Olivia looked away from an explicit photo of the première dame. "So we know that he isn't bluffing."

"Do you want me to wipe his memory?" Huck asked.

"No. We don't know where else he could have saved these photos. For all we know, he has a scrapbook of them under his bed."

"Where is he right now?" Quinn asked.

"He landed in New York on Tuesday." Olivia said.

"I have to go." Huck said abruptly rising and folding his computer.

"What?" Quinn asked. "You can't just leave."

"I have to go right now." Huck said with definite intent. "Don't worry about Correa."

Olivia tried to stop him with her hand on his arm, but he shrugged it off, escaping before anyone could stop him.

"Huck!" Olivia called after him.

"I said don't worry about Correa." He repeated before leaving the office.

"What the hell?" Quinn asked, turning to Olivia who shared her same confused expression.

"I don't know." Olivia admitted.

"Then what do we do now?"

"If Huck says not to worry about Correa, then I guess we shouldn't." Olivia chose to go against reason. Her gut was tugging her every which way. She swiftly turned on her heels switching into business mode. "I need you to coordinate with the press at the podium in Paris. Make sure everybody is on the same page."

Quinn nodded, knowing better than to question Olivia. She scrambled back to her office to complete her task.

/

Fitz watched the news intently. He knew that he was supposed to be taking a nap now. He had a lull in his schedule at work, which was usually reserved for some much needed shut eye in his long shift. But he was watching a live stream of the première dame's statement. He had no idea what she was about to say, and how it would affect Olivia.

She walked up to the podium and the cameras started flashing like strobe lights.

"Bonjour, tout le monde." She said. Fitz flipped on the subtitles.

 _I apologize for taking so long to make a public statement. The recent events have caused me to do some personal reflection. But without further ado, let us begin._

 _First, I would like to clear up an unfortunate misunderstanding in the media. Olivia Pope has no relation to my husband, other than a professional relationship. I admire Ms. Pope as a very successful and influential woman. I am sorry that she was dragged into a mess that she had nothing to do with_.

Fitz breathed a sigh of relief. The worse things had been running through his mind about what she would say about Olivia. He was overjoyed that the première dame told the truth and did not use Olivia as a scapegoat.

 _However, pertaining to unrelated matter, I have decided to file for a divorce._

The press roared up with questions. She paused, waiting for an assistant to call for calm.

 _The president and I have suffered many marital problems that have persisted for too long. These differences are irreconcilable. I ask for the press to respect our privacy through these proceedings._

Fitz watched her say a few more things before they accepted questions.

 _Why are you seeking a divorce?_ One reported asked.

 _While Ms. Pope was falsely named the president's mistress, I have been aware of many other extra-marital affairs._

 _Can you give us any names?_ Another asked.

 _I defer those questions to the President's office_.

 _Will you be seeking sole custody of your child?_

 _Those details will be worked out privately. We will do whatever is best for Claude._

 _Is this the first time the President is hearing of this?_

 _His office has been notified in advance._

 _Will you be staying at the palace during these proceedings?_

 _I will stay with family for the time being. However, that will not affect my work as the première dame._

 _Are you seeking legal counsel through the divorce? Who will represent you?_

 _Olivia Pope & Associates is assisting these developments. Along with my personal family lawyer_.

Fitz smirked. Only Olivia could find a way to spin the scandal to her favor, and play both sides. He watched a few more questions fire off before the feed ended. He sent a quick text to Olivia to give his support, before passing out on the cot in his office, feeling a hundred percent more relaxed.

/

Olivia didn't know what Huck did to assure that Correa wouldn't leak and content, but she knew that he was back within 10 hours. Olivia had fallen asleep on the couch in her office after the close of the press statement.

In the back of her mind, she was also afraid to go home. She knew, at least, that the press outside of her apartment should all but die down by now. But at least the interest in her personal life would fizzle down. She still didn't want to leave the office, in case anything new came in.

The press situation outside of her office building was another story. She didn't plan on her firm to be outed as helping the divorce hearings. After an uncomfortable phone call from the President, she knew that the press must be raging about her convenient switch of sides.

"Olivia." Huck gently tapped her shoulder.

"What?" Olivia sat up in a jolt. She looked over to Alex's empty crib. "Where is Alex?"

"Quinn handed her over to her nanny this morning."

"What time is it?"

"10:41."

"Shit." Olivia got up and quickly rearranged her wrinkled clothes. "Wait." She looked at Huck. "Where have you been?"

"It's handled." He nodded.

"Can you tell me where you went? What you did?"

"It's handled." He repeated and briskly walked out.

Olivia watched him leave, remembering their previous night. She was still so confused by his behavior. She had so much work to do, that she immediately tried to put all of her focus on the matters at hand.

Pretty much everything was handled, it was just a waiting game to make sure that eberything went without a snag. They had to handle normal press and small duties that came with all cases. It was the quiet that disturbed Olivia. She just came off of the highest adrenaline, but she couldn't even rest, because she knew something could be coming.

/

Fitz checked the news on his phone. He got in the habit doing so on his elevator rides up to Olivia's apartment. He did it so that she wouldn't have to explain whatever stunts her team pulled in the media whenever she answered him at her doorstep.

Miraculously, the scandal was all but dead now. He hadn't really seen her since before the news broke that the French Premiere Dame was seeking a divorce, due to his work shifts piling up. He tried bringing her food one night, knowing that she scarcely ate while working, but she was so in her zone that he knew that hanging around would be intruding.

He did have to deal with a few reporters-disguised-as-too-friendly-faces-at-the-grocery-store, but it didn't bother him. If his face was on a few click-bait blogs and trashy news sites, it didn't matter. He could take it. As long as she was in control and protecting Alex. He imagined that she was stuck between a rock and hard place with managing the furious French president and his scorned wife.

He just wanted nothing more than to see her smiling again. It didn't matter that he came straight from a 14 hour shift. He missed her so much. He knocked a familiar beat on her door.

"Hi." Olivia smiled brightly. She was tired, and it was obvious that she had not slept in a week. Even after the divorce announcement was made, Olivia was working 20 hour days, managing press and clearing her name. But now she had a look of tired relief on her face. The storm had passed. That didn't mean that there wasn't damage to show the storm's past, but the storm was passed. She was relieved.

"Hi." He smiled back, realizing that he was staring at her beautiful face for probably too long. "Invite me in."

"Come in." Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck as he circled her waist, hoisting her up against him. She didn't care that her feet weren't touching the ground. She just knew that the feeling of his arms squeezing her against him was the best medicine to her fatigue.

He pressed his open mouth to hers, softly sucking on her bottom lip. She hummed softly as their tongues slid against each other.

"You must be tired." Olivia whispered, breaking the kiss before kissing him again. "You just got off of a long shift."

"I'm fine." He set her down, shutting the door behind him. "You must be tired." He lifted her onto the kitchen counter, settling between her legs. "You just got off of an international crisis."

"I'm fine." She laughed, pulling him closer by his shirt. "At least I am now."

"Is Alex already asleep?"

"Yeah. I think she is coming down with something. She didn't eat much dinner and fell asleep on her own. She wouldn't even let me bathe her."

"A bug has been going around some of my co-worker's kids." Fitz sighed, running his hands along her thighs.

"I guess we'll see in the morning." Olivia smiled softly. She slid down off of the counter, moving to pour herself a water. "I'm assuming that Karen knows about Mellie and Andrew now?"

"Yeah, they told her the night after the scandal broke."

"How did she take it?" Olivia sipped her water, leaning against the counter.

Fitz gravitated towards her, pressing his body to the side of hers. "She didn't really care either way, but she's happy for them."

"That's good. I tried calling her the other day, but I think she was in play rehearsals."

"She's been busy." Fitz nodded. "Her play is a week after the gala—"

"I'll be there." Olivia confirmed.

"And the gala?"

"I'll be there too." Olivia smiled, "Unless you won't, because that would be awkward."

"I wouldn't dare leave you alone with all of those handsy doctors in what will undoubtedly be a very sexy gown." Fitz playfully let his hands wander along her sides.

"You know, the James Madison annual fundraising gala _does_ have a reputation for sexual assault."

Fitz had a witty retort on the tip of his tongue, but she kissed it away. Her body was so reactive from the way her back arched when he ran his thumb down her spine to the small moan that she couldn't control if she tried.

"Move in with me." He whispered, kissing her cheek and then moving down to her neck.

"Our plan—" Olivia gasped as his cold hands untucked her blouse from her slacks and slid up to contact her skin.

"Can be amended."

"We agreed that for Karen's sake…" Olivia pushed his mouth away from her neck, and made him look at her, but he picked her up off of the counter, making her squeal.

"Karen wants you to move in." Fitz said honestly, as he carried her to the couch. He never left between her legs as he laid her down and hovered over her, kissing her collar bone. "In fact, that was one of the first things she asked me, when she heard the news about Mellie and Andrew."

"What did she say?" Olivia's brow crinkled.

"She asked when we were going to get married, and I said when we are ready. She asked if she was the reason why we haven't moved in yet, and I said that we had a plan to wait, so she wouldn't have to move." Fitz intertwined his fingers in hers and kissed her knuckles. "She thought that was ridiculous."

"Of course she did." Olivia laughed.

"I'm getting old—your words, not mine." Fitz argued, as he lifted Olivia's shirt over her head. "I'm just trying to make the most of my dwindling time left on this earth."

"That argument works against your favor right now." Olivia laughed, as she took her time undoing the buttons on his shirt. She cocked her head to the side, and decided to poke fun at him. "How long do you think it will be until Gerry gives you a grandkid? I wonder if they will be close enough in age to be friends with Alex."

"Not funny." Fitz groaned as he unbuttoned her pants. Olivia lifted her hips so that he could pull the tailored slacks clean off of her. Fitz let his mouth salivate at the sight of her in her lingerie. He kissed her plump lips before whispering in her ear. "At least consider it."

"Consider it considered." Olivia wriggled out from under him, making her escape from the couch. She unhooked her bra, flinging it to the floor as she walked to her bedroom. She knew it would be a matter of seconds before he recovered from his shock and was overpowering her to her bed.

Right on cue, his arm was hooking around her stomach from behind and carrying her across the room. They collided onto the mattress in a fit of giggles.

"You tease me too much, woman." He mumbled as he immediately began a trail of wet kisses down her chest. Olivia knew it was her turn to be silent as his mouth enveloped her nipple. He always knew the right amount of pleasure and pain as his tongue swirled one as his hand roughly massaged her other breast.

Her body was aching to feel him inside of her, but she knew that if she begged, he would only prolong the torture. So she had to let him devour her body in every sensuous way, as he slowly made his way down her torso.

He kissed her mound before spreading her legs wide for himself. He could see her glistening for him. The way her chest heaved and her eyes were darkly locked with his in anticipation made his dick instantly hard.

"Fuck." Olivia called out louder than she intended as his mouth connected with her clit. The thought of Alex waking from their noise was the last thing on her mind as he methodically worked her clit between his lips.

One of her hands went down to entangle in his wild curls, while the other held her aching breast. He felt so incredible, squeezing her thighs with his large, capable hands. She came way sooner than she expected, grabbing fistfuls of the sheets, biting her lip to control her volume.

When she came down from her high, she immediately reached down for his cock, wanting him to feel as good as he just made her feel. It was harder than she expected, practically pulsating in her small grasp.

"You are that ready, huh?" Olivia smirked as she licked some of her juices off of his chin. She could tell he was tense by the way he didn't respond, and just groaned, kissing her back. He forcibly flipped her over, sliding a pillow under her abdomen. Olivia braced herself against the headboard, like she was finishing a 50 freestyle in the pool.

He palmed her ass from behind, taking in her body laid out for him. With his dick in his hand, he teased her opening, making her mumble something into the pillow in front of her. When he entered, he didn't hold back. He filled her as far as she would allow, making them both gasp and pause for air.

He began to slowly stroke, preserving more for himself than her. He grabbed her by her hair, and pulled her head back, so that he could hear how he was making her feel. Muffled praises were not good enough for him.

"I'm really fucking close." He moaned into her ear, biting her shoulder. "I need you to come, Livvie."

"I'm—I…" Olivia stammered. Tears brimmed her eyes as she hit her palm against the headboard.

He reached underneath her, taking her clit between his forefinger and thumb, successfully bringing her to a finish. As her walls were clamping around him, he lifted her hips, pounding several powerful stroked into her, cumming hard inside of her.

"Damn." Olivia commented as he rolled off of her and collapsed next to her. "That has to be a top five for us."

"I've lost track to be honest. Every time feels better and better." He laughed, kissing her forehead. "I'll get a shower started."

He made a move to get out of the bed, but Olivia put a hand on his waist, stopping him. "Can I just have one minute to collect myself? You can't fuck me like that then immediately hop out of bed."

"Okay." Fitz chuckled deeply, pulling her into his chest to cuddle. "One minute."

And they allowed one minute of quiet closeness, before Fitz reluctantly climbed out of the bed to start the shower. He carried her, against her vocal protests—although they both knew that her legs were not strong enough to walk just yet—to the shower.

"We can start looking." Olivia said as she ran her loofah over his chest. "For a place together."

"Really?" he asked, as he searched her eyes.

"If we find the right place, then it will work. But there is no rush."

"Except for the fact that I am madly in love with you." Fitz's hands massaged suds into her stomach. "And the thought of showering like this every morning drives me crazy."

Olivia laughed a melodic tune, bowing her head into his chest. "If we showered like this every morning, then we would never get to work on time."

"Thank you." Fitz kissed her forehead.

* * *

 **The next chapter is pretty much complete, so it will hopefully be up soon. (I know I said that last time, but trust me haha). Please comment below!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Good morning." Olivia came in with a slightly peppier step to her gate as she acknowledged her team. "And also, goodbye."

"What?" Quinn asked.

"Everybody is getting the rest of the week off." Olivia smiled, setting her purse on the conference room.

"What happened?" Marcus asked, concerned.

"Nothing." Olivia said calmly. "I know that I don't thank you guys enough, but I really appreciate how everybody came through on this French President case. The press is finally under control and all of the pieces came together—thanks to you guys. So this is my treat."

"But we have work to do, our phone has been steadily ringing with new clients. I hate to profit off of your tragedy, but your name being thrust into the spotlight brought hundreds of potential paychecks." Quinn protested.

"Nothing is urgent." Olivia said. "So, you can either sit here in an empty room, wasting our electric bill, or you can take a _vacation_. We will start back on Monday."

Quinn opened her mouth to say something, but Abbey kicked her under the table.

"So get out of my sight." Olivia waved them off as she walked into her office. "Except for Marcus. My office." She disappeared into her office.

"If I was in trouble, her tone would be different, right?" Marcus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You never know." Huck said as he got up to leave.

"This is weird." Quinn said after Marcus entered Olivia's office.

"It shouldn't be." Abbey replied. "Do you know the last time she gave us a break?"

Quinn opened her mouth to say something, but Abbey cut her off.

"Christmas doesn't count."

Quinn fell silent.

"Exactly. So don't question it." Abbey said with a smirk as she gathered her purse. "Because I sure as hell am not."

/

"Sit down." Olivia told Marcus as she opened her laptop, typing into it.

"Did I do something?" Marcus asked.

"Yes." Olivia replied. "But it was a good thing."

He raised his eyebrows in confusion, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Abbey told me how essential you were to the premiere dame. I was not completely confident in you going in—not because you are not talented, but because you are still a somewhat new addition to our team. You proved me wrong."

"Thank you."

"And in realizing this, I realized that you are finally one of us. You have earned your gladiator badge."

"A year and a few months in change is a hell of a training period." Marcus joked.

"Which is why I was reminded of why we signed you on in the first place."

"Oh?"

"When I hired you, I will admit that I didn't think of you as a permanent member of our team. I was in charge of B613, and I wanted to shape a cooperative politician who would help it remain in power. Obviously, those plans for the organization did not hold out. But I hired you under a promise. You agreed to work for me if I got you into office. And I am afraid that I have fallen short."

"Are you firing me?" He asked.

"Marcus, please. I'm complimenting you and admitting my own flaw, and you think I'm firing you?"

"Sorry. Continue."

"I know that you are uncomfortable with some of the things we do here. Even when you agree, I can tell you are still uncomfortable. So, I wanted to show you this."

She turned around her computer screen to show a billboard-sized political advertisement. It had a black, fuzzy, profile shaped blank on it, but the words were there.

 _Marcus Walker  
Maryland Senator  
2020_

It was a mock ad for his senatorial campaign.

"So, if you want, we can kick start your campaign for Maryland's next senator. The incumbent is retiring this cycle, so the seat would be ripe for your picking. And of course the White House, which you have our pledged support." She leaned against her desk and crossed her arms. "That is, if you want it."

Marcus opened his mouth like he was going to respond, but stopped himself, thinking further. "Do I have to answer right now?"

"Of course not." Olivia closed her laptop. "Go home and think about it. I mean, we obviously can't start until Monday. We can't go public for another year and a half. So there is not a rush. But it is rightfully yours."

"You aren't trying to fire me, you are just trying to get rid of me." He joked as he stood and buttoned his suit jacket. "I will let you know by Monday."

"Have a nice vacation."

/

"Hi." Olivia greeted Fitz with a kiss as he let her into his house. He kissed Alex's cheek. "How was work?"

"Exhausting." He admitted. "9 months ago must have been an especially romantic night because every woman in the DMV was due today. But I got a nap afterwards, so I'm good."

"So you'll be awake tonight." Olivia winked, setting Alex down. She greeted him more properly, kissing him deeply.

"You are in a good mood."

"I'm in a good mood." She affirmed. "Alex is over her bug, I gave the team the rest of the week off…"

"Wait… you actually gave the poor souls of OPA a vacation?"

"I did." She laughed. "You are almost as surprised as they were."

"So…" He smirked. "That means that you have the rest of the week off?"

"It does." She grinned. "But Alex is holding you to the promise of a movie night, so tonight you are on boyfriend duty."

"Is she holding me to it, or are you?"

"Both." Olivia smiled. "But don't worry. I brought the movie. And popcorn. So all that you have to do is provide a couch and your TV which is enviously bigger than mine."

"I think she only likes me for my TV." Fitz joked as Alex was already climbing onto his couch.

"I know it is why I keep you around." Olivia shot back as she handed him the bags of popcorn from her purse. "I'll get the movie started."

By the time a large bowl was filled with Olivia's favorite brand of popcorn, _Moana_ was starting on the TV. Fitz grabbed some blankets and a bottle of wine as well. Alex curled up in Olivia's lap, and Olivia curled up against Fitz's side. Fitz wished that he could end every night like this, with everybody warm and content to watch Disney's latest princess.

Alex barely made it halfway through her out of key attempts to sing along to Moana's journey before she was fast asleep, with a belly full of popcorn. Olivia didn't mind having her fall asleep against her, until she grew restless for a change in position. She gently slid down to lay her head in Fitz's lap, letting Alex snuggle against her chest.

"I'm sure that Disney princess movies are not your taste, but I'm kind of invested into this one, so we have to finish." Olivia whispered, reaching up to feed a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

"Are you kidding me? I hated it when Karen grew out of children movies. I'm only dating you so that I can watch the new ones with Alex."

"Mhmm." Olivia chuckled. They quietly finished the movie, before leaving Alex in the dark living room to sleep.

"What are you going to do on your days off?" Fitz asked as they moved into the kitchen. "Escape to Cabo? Hike the Himalayans? Karen informed me that Coachella is this weekend. I bet you look real pretty in a flower crown. " Fitz joked, dodging a piece of popcorn she threw at his face.

"I was hoping to spend them with you." Olivia took a seat at a barstool at the island. "You don't work until Sunday, so I was hoping that you could fit me into your schedule."

"I might be able to squeeze you in." He went to pour her the last glass of wine, but she protested.

"I have to drive home, I shouldn't."

"You could spend the night."

"Alex can't sleep on your couch."

"She won't roll off. You said yourself about how you think she is ready for a big girl bed."

"I'm not worried about her rolling off." Olivia laughed. "I'm worried about the inevitable wet spot on your nice couch cushion in the morning."

Fitz wrinkled his nose. "I forgot about that."

"Plus she has yet to sleep the whole night through away from her bed."

"Fine. You win this one." He poured the last glass for himself. "Why don't we go to the beach?"

"The beach?"

"Yeah. Has Alex seen the ocean yet?"

"Of course she has." Olivia said.

"At the beach though?" Fitz challenged. "Not through an airplane window."

"She has yet to be to the beach." Olivia admitted.

"That settles it. We are going to the beach tomorrow." He circled the kitchen island to where she was sitting.

"Which beach?"

"Leave that up to me." He kissed her tenderly. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at 10."

"Okay." Olivia grinned. The thought of spending a relaxing day on the beach with him was something of a dream to her. To try to piece together some sense of normalcy after her crazy past couple of weeks seemed like the perfect way to spend her break.

"I can't wait to see you in your swim suit." Fitz murmured as his hands shamelessly felt up her body.

"You've already seen me in a swimsuit." She laughed as he picked her up and set her on the counter.

"Something tells me that the white bikini that remains untouched in your bottom left drawer will look way better on you than the one piece you wear to swim laps in."

"I guess you will have to use your imagination until then." Olivia teased as she sucked the taste of wine off of his tongue.

"Or you could give me a sneak peek." He slipped his hands under her shirt and quickly found the clasp for her bra.

"It's late." She pulled her face back, but made no move to pull his hands away. "And I should be waking Alex before she does the unmentionable on your couch."

"You know, there is this incredible invention called cleaning products. It erases messes like magic."

Olivia laughed out loud, putting her hands on his chest and pushing him away. "How about this. I drag Alex's sleepy ass into the car before you make me change my mind. You go take a freezing shower and take a nice long rest tonight, because no matter how much you protest, I can tell that you are exhausted from your shift today. Then you wake up refreshed tomorrow to pick us up."

"Deal." Fitz groaned, pretending like that wasn't a promising prospect for him. "But you better leave right now." He kissed her neck and whispered in her ear, "Before you… change your mind."

"Good night, Fitz." Olivia laughed, sliding from the counter top. Alex obviously didn't want to be woken up, crumbling into a tearful tantrum.

"See?" He held his hands out in defeat. "Even she wants to spend the night."

"Goodnight." Olivia rolled her eyes as she juggled an angry Alex in her arms. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Alex." Fitz kissed her forehead, and then kissed Olivia's lips briefly. "I can't wait."

/

"Is it everything your horny mind imagined?" Olivia asked, once she noticed his shameless gaze. She had just shed her cover up to reveal her white bikini—which had admittedly been abandoned for the past couple of years.

"And more." Fitz quipped back as he set up the umbrella. And arranged their things on the blanket.

"Alex, come back here." Olivia commanded, as Alex ran into her first contact with sand. She fell down, curiously grabbing handfuls of it. " _Alexandria_." Olivia called, giving up and walking over to scoop her up. She set her on the blanket, against Alex's protests, and began to rub child sensitive sunscreen into her.

"Man, that brings back memories of my childhood." Fitz chuckled.

"You are next." Olivia shot him a glare. "You will not get a sunburn on my watch."

"Only if I can return the favor." Fitz winked.

Olivia chucked a bottle of adult sunscreen at him, which he narrowly dodged. "I'm not kidding." She warned.

"Neither am I." He picked up the bottle and began to rub some of the lotion between his hands before applying it to his chest and arms.

Olivia finished Alex and poured some of his lotion onto her hands for herself. "Don't forget your ears."

"My ears have never gotten sunburnt."

"When I was fourteen, my foster sister got so burnt on her ears that it blistered. I am well aware of how white people work."

"Funny." Fitz smirked, dutifully rubbing his ears.

Once they were fully protected from the sun's UV rays, they played with Alex in the sand, filling up pails of water to make wet sand formations.

"Do you miss California at all?" Olivia asked.

"A little." Fitz admitted.

"Did you go to the beach every day?"

"Is that honestly the stereotype that the rest of the country thinks?"

"You grew up in Santa Barbara."

"We went often, not every day. But it was normal. We didn't know what we were taking for granted."

"How come you never go back?"

"Because my life is here." He said simply. "Work and family makes it hard."

"I would like to go there with you." Olivia said. "I want to see your childhood home and where you got into trouble with your delinquent high school friends."

"I would like that." Fitz laughed.

The sun was beating down, and Olivia noticed Alex was starting to sweat. "Do you want to go swimming?" She asked, knowing that Alex couldn't swim yet. But Alex had shown an affinity towards water, making her swimmer mother proud. She was certain that Alex would take after her mother and be the champion of the backstroke one day.

She put little floaties on Alex's arms, before carrying her to the water. The ocean water was warmer than Olivia expected, becoming a cool relief from the sun. With Alex on her hip, they waded out to the calm ocean. Alex squealed as the waves crashed against Olivia's legs, straining out of Olivia's arms to join the water.

"Slow down there, Michael Phelps." Fitz laughed. Once they reached waist deep, past the break of the waves, Olivia lowered Alex into the water, so that she was halfway underwater.

"How long do you think it will be until even she can beat you at a 200 free?" Olivia quipped.

"We get it, we get it. You beat me the last time." Fitz rolled his eyes. He was athletic alright, but running or the weight room was always his strong suit. He felt out of place in the pool. That didn't stop him from spending a few early mornings getting laps in just to watch Olivia glide seamlessly through the water.

"And the time before that." Olivia winked. Seeing Alex gleefully kick and splash in the water, struggling for her independence, made her so happy.

After a while of play time in the water, Alex got adventurous in Olivia's loose grasp and decided to lower her mouth to the water, taking in a deep gulp of salty water. Naturally, she spit it out and burst into a fit of panicked tears.

"It is okay, Alex." Olivia held her close, patting her back to comfort her. "Ocean time is over for now."

They returned to the beach to calm her down. Olivia gave her some food in the shade of their umbrella to lift her spirits. Once her emotional levels were back to normal, Fitz entertained Alex by burying her in sand from the waist down, making a mermaid formation.

"Time to reapply." Olivia dipped Alex in the ocean to rinse the sand from her. She dried her off and reapplied sunscreen to her. Alex became tired and irritated of the sand, so she curled up on their blanket, refusing to cooperate with Olivia. "I guess its nap time instead." Olivia let her throw a silent tantrum into exhaustion, but made sure to pull her cover up over Alex, so the sun wouldn't burn her. Fitz laughed at Alex's complete surrender to the beach.

"Time for you to reapply too." Olivia tossed him the bottle and shot him a look.

Fitz tossed the bottle back. "Your move, Mom."

Olivia sighed, pouring some into her hands. "You are worse than Alex." She began to rub the lotion softly into his shins. By the time she reached above his swim trunks, she couldn't help but enjoy herself. She took her time rubbing the white sticky lotion into his abs. His smugly relaxed face annoyed her as she massaged into his chest and arms. She took an excessive amount and swiped it across his nose. "That should do it." She giggled at the white streak down his face.

"My turn, now." He spread the excessive amount across his face before picking up the bottle for Olivia and squeezing some into his hand. Oliva willingly laid out, letting his hands meticulously massage into her calves. He came dangerously close up her thigh before skipping to her shoulders.

"And you call me the tease." Olivia tried to joke, but her voice came out as a whisper. She was in some kind of fantasy. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so cared for and _loved_. Which was ridiculous, because every second she spent with Fitz made her feel more secure and more in love. There was just something about him carefully, but firmly (and a little seductively) massaging the oil into her that made her even more in awe.

He dutifully rubbed her shoulders and stomach, methodically rubbing the lines where her swimsuit met her half-exposed breasts. When he reached her waist, he stopped.

"You missed a spot." Olivia murmured, halfway still in her bliss.

"What spot, exactly?" Fitz asked in feigned innocence. His hand trailed seductively along her inner thighs.

"I don't want to get burnt there. I want my tan to be even." Olivia played along. Before she could gasp, he had a handful of lotion and was massaging her inner thigh. She tried to control her reactions, but it was clear what effect he had on her.

Olivia submitted herself to the pleasure of his capable hands grabbing and kneading, dangerously close to a certain spot.

"You know damn well that we can't do anything out here in this public beach with my daughter napping 5 feet from us." Olivia said, attempting to clear her mind.

"I know." Fitz smirked, not backing down from his efforts. "I'm just trying to get you as hot as possible, because you can't do anything."

Olivia groaned, playfully swatting him away from her. She sat up, applying the rest of the sunscreen to her face.

"Here, let me get your back." Fitz moved to sit behind her, dutifully rubbing the lotion into her back.

Olivia saw a motion out of the corner of her eye from someone on the beach. The beach wasn't crowded, but there were a few families and teenagers hanging around. But this person was a grown man. What caught her eye was that he wasn't wearing beach clothes. She watched him pull out a professional camera and nap a picture of them.

"What are you looking at—" Fitz followed her gaze to the man. "Woah, that is not okay." He began to get up.

"Fitz, sit down."

He ignored her, trying to stand, but she grabbed his wrist, pulling him back down. "You have paparazzi following you now? He can't just take pictures of you in your swimsuit like that. He can't take pictures of _Alex_ like that."

"There is nothing we can do about it." Olivia said sternly. She didn't let go of her white knuckle grip on his wrist, until he finally settled down into a sitting position again. "Alex is covered. I'm fine. They are probably going to circulate on some wannabe TMZ site with no more than a couple thousand views."

"How many pictures did you see him take?" Fitz was still riled up, his protective side getting the best of him.

"I only saw him take one." Olivia admitted.

"Has this been going on since the scandal broke?" Fitz asked, squinting to see if the paparazzi had returned. He hadn't.

"Yes. But I have pretty much stayed in the office, so it hasn't been an issue."

"Is it an issue now?"

"No." Olivia tried not to roll her eyes. He was making such a big deal out of nothing, but she had to remind herself how weird it probably was for him. Plus, he was bone-headedly protective of her and Alex. "If you want to go, we can go. I doubt he will come back, though."

Fitz sighed, realizing that he was overreacting a little. It bothered him way more that someone would be photographing Olivia and Alex without their consent than his own picture being taken. "We can stay."

"Thank you." Olivia kissed him softly, letting her hand stay against his cheek. "Now how about we wake Alex up, spend a few more hours playing on the beach. Then, once she is _really_ worn out, we take her home, put her to bed, and have a nice glass of wine?"

"Deal." Fitz grinned, reading between the lines about what _a glass of wine_ meant.

/

After they woke up Alex, they spent an hour walking with her along the beach, picking up sea shells. Olivia kept a zip-lock bag of Alex's favorite shells, knowing that she would want to see them in the morning, and she would want to remember their day for long after her memory failed.

"If I knew that taking Alex to the beach would knock her out so securely, I would've taken her a long time ago." Olivia half joked. They had just returned from the beach, and Olivia had put a half-passed out Alex into a bath and then into her warm bed.

"The real reason why parents take their kids on exhausting trips before their memories have developed enough to remember." Fitz retorted. Even though he joked, Olivia knew the real truth behind his words. Their beach trip was more for themselves than Alex. Alex wouldn't remember her first encounter with the Atlantic Ocean, but Fitz and Olivia would never forget how she clung to Olivia's waist at first contact.

"Today was a lot of fun." Olivia smiled as she curled up into his side on the couch. Olivia pulled through on her promise, pouring two glasses of wine. They were both dressed to go to sleep, but they also knew that sleep would come at a much later time.

"It was." Fitz kissed her softly, roaming her curves innocently with his hands. "I enjoyed spending the day with you and Alex."

"Mmhmm." Olivia hummed as she reached for her laptop from the coffee table.

"No work, remember?" Fitz joked, slightly annoyed that she would pull her laptop out when he had other plans for the night.

"Don't you want to look at our future potential homes?" Olivia asked innocently.

The biggest grin spread across his face as he made room for her to sit between his legs as they looked through future homes together.

"First thing." She said, pulling up several realtor sights between a sip of wine. "Is the budget."

"I talked to my realtor. She said my house could go for $800,000 easily on today's market. We can start by looking for something in that range."

"We are splitting this 50:50." Olivia said with finality. "Whatever you want to spend, I can match that."

"I love it when you throw in my face that you make more than me." He joked, tickling her neck with his growing scruff.

" _Stop_." Olivia squirmed. "Let's _focus_ here."

"Okay. Budget. Focused." Fitz stopped his assault on her for the time being. "I can throw in $800,000."

"I doubt we need to go up into the multi-million dollar range, but we can see. It doesn't hurt to have options, but I don't want Alex growing up in something too fancy." She adjusted some of the filters on the websites. "Next category: type. I would love to live in a house, but location is an issue. I need to be able to drive to work in under fifteen minutes, factoring in rush hour traffic. That pretty much limits our search to DC or the Northern edge of Virginia."

"I'm too old to move back into an apartment." Fitz said. "Don't you think Alex would like to have a yard to play in?"

"I grew up in an apartment." Olivia shifted in his arms to look at him. "I turned out okay. Plus DC has a million parks."

"But it isn't the _same_." Fitz pressed.

"It isn't like living in an apartment of condo will forever stunt her growth in any way." Olivia raised her eyebrow.

"I just don't want to feel… cramped." Fitz sighed.

"Then we'll table it until later." Olivia closed her laptop and set it back on the coffee table.

"What? Open your laptop back up." Fitz protested.

"I said earlier that we can look at homes when it feels right." Olivia kissed him softly. "There is no rush, remember?"

Fitz wanted to protest, but he knew not to push her. Living together with her was a dream he had been planning on for a long time. He wanted her to be as in love with the thought as him, so he put his pride to the side and let her kiss him again. She turned in his arms and deepened the kiss.

"But we will keep looking." He halfway asked.

"We will keep looking." Olivia said, between sliding her tongue along his. "It just has to be perfect."

"It will be perfect." He agreed.

/

"Oh, no." Fitz groaned. "What are we doing here?"

"I just have to pick up some files." Olivia said as she pulled into the parking garage below her office. After dropping Alex off at her day care the next morning, they went for a leisurely run together. Olivia insisted that she ran a few errands, and Fitz agreed to tag along.

"You don't need any files." Fitz argued. "You don't have work. This is a no work week."

"Relax. I have spent the entire day doing non-work things, which is probably a record for me. You should be proud." Olivia rolled her eyes as she parked her car. "Do you want to come in or stay in the car?"

"I better come in, to make sure you are quick." He said, halfway joking.

It was weird for him to be in her office so quiet. The space was either bustling with her team members, frantically pinning photos and evidence on the walls or talking over the phone. Even when he visited her there late at night and the office was empty, it still seemed so much fuller. Olivia checked each of the offices to see if anybody was there. He followed her to her office, where she began to file through a stack of papers on her desk.

"I don't think I've ever seen this place so empty." He sat in her chair and swiveled it around.

"It is quiet." Olivia said with a smirk. "We are alone."

Fitz watched her circle her own desk to him. She sat on his lap, playfully running her fingers through his hair. He was perfectly aware of how her perfect ass was pressing against his crotch. He felt himself get hard at the slightest shift of weight from her. Was she doing this intentionally?

"I actually didn't have to pick up papers here." She toyed with the collar of his shirt.

"You didn't?" He played along, firmly gripping her ass in his large hands. "Then why are we here?"

"You have always wanted to fuck me in my office." She whispered against his mouth. "And now is your chance."

She knew that just the mention of sex with her was enough to turn him on. He tried to connect his mouth to hers, but she avoided his lips. She went to kiss along his jaw line to his neck. Any move he made on her to take his mind off of his erection was calmly thwarted by her. When he felt her weight shift out of his lap, he knew that he was doomed. She slid in between his legs, shedding her jacket and tucked her hair behind her ears. She unbuttoned his jeans and pulled his dick out of his boxers.

"Livvie…" Fitz groaned as she began to stroke him. She softly kissed his member, swirling her tongue around his tip. The softness of her tongue and the graze of her teeth made his head fall back and his grip tighten in her hair. "Fuck." He moaned as she took him in as far as she could handle. She knew how to work him like putty, bobbing up and down, sucking with the right amount of pressure. He gathered her hair in his hands, holding it back and controlling her pace.

When she brought him dangerously close to his finish, Fitz tried to resist. He hated finishing in her, but she never seemed to mind. She ignored him, bringing him to a pleasurable finish. He gripped the arm rest of her chair as he came into her mouth. She swallowed every drop, sucking him until he was limp again. She retrieved a water bottle from her mini-fridge, rinsing her mouth out. She glanced over at him with his head leaned back against her chair, watching her through hooded eyes.

"I love you." He whispered, throaty with desire.

"I love you too." Olivia smiled, crossing back to him to offer him the rest of the water. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her onto his lap. He began to kiss along her neck and roam his hands up her thighs.

"I don't think we can do a round two." Olivia laughed, squirming out of his grasp.

"You haven't had a round one yet." Fitz backed her up against her desk.

"Save it for tonight." Olivia pushed him back into her chair. "Tuck yourself in. We are late to pick up Alex."

"Oh, shit, you are right." He said, checking his watch.

/

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Alexandria Pope." Olivia told the teenager at the desk.

"Of course, Ms. Pope." She smiled and retreated into the big room.

Olivia used to have to show her ID in order to pick up Alex, but ever since her name and picture was blasted on every local, national, and international news show, they never asked. It was a small change, but it annoyed her nonetheless.

"Um… She's already been picked up." The teenager returned.

"Excuse me?" Olivia asked. "Who picked her up?"

"Well, it was Allison's shift then. She left thirty minutes ago. If you want, I can call her and ask."

"Please do." Olivia snapped, harsher than she meant. She felt Fitz put his hand on the small of her back to calm her down. She pulled out her phone and dialed Huck. She moved away from Fitz's hand, and spoke in a low tone. "Huck? I need you to do me a favor. Hack into the security cameras at Alex's day care. There is one camera in the north west corner…"

"Liv, slow down, he doesn't need to—" Fitz whispered, but she held her hand up to silence him.

"Okay, keep me on the line." Olivia spoke into the phone.

"Hey, take a deep breath." Fitz told her. He took her free hand in his, gently rubbing it. "There had to be an explanation." Even as he tried to comfort her, the worst snuck into his mind. Why would she call Huck to check the cameras? They had no dangerous clients at the time. Why would someone want to kidnap Alex? He started to get warm, imagining what evil people would do with Alex.

"Excuse me, Ms. Pope." The teenager had her cell phone to her ear. "Allison says that she can't remember her name, but she could give you a description."

"What did they look like?"

"Um… She was tall and skinny—"

"I've got it." Huck said into the phone.

"Hold on." Olivia told the day care receptionist. "Do we know them?"

"It's just Abbey. She picked her up an hour ago."

"Abbey?" Olivia asked, taking a deep breath of relief. "Thank you." She hung up, before turning to the receptionist. "Did she have red hair?"

"Yes!" The receptionist bounced up and down. "So we are good here?"

"It was a misunderstanding." Olivia nodded. "I'm sorry."

She briskly walked out of the lobby, dragging Fitz behind her to her car.

"Woah, slow down." Fitz pulled back on her death grip.

"Sorry." Olivia slowed down, letting him catch up. She unlocked her car, slipping behind the wheel.

Fitz took his seat in the passenger side and watched her dial Abbey's number.

"Abbey? Hey… You have Alex, right? Aw, shit." Olivia hit her palm against the steering wheel. "I completely forgot about that. Where are you? I can come by to pick her up." She hung up and tossed her phone into her purse. She put her car into drive and pulled out.

"Hold on a second." Fitz said as she jerked the car out of the parking spot. "Pull over for a second."

Olivia pulled into a parking spot. "What?"

"Just… Take a breath."

"What?" Olivia shot him a crazy look.

"Your adrenaline is at a hundred right now. Pause and take a breath." He watched her take a big breath and exhale. "Okay, good. Now drive."

Olivia nodded, taking another breath before driving off.

/

"What's on your mind?" Fitz reached his hand across her tummy, pulling her to lay on her side to face him. "I can hear you thinking."

They retrieved Alex from Abbey immediately. Fitz noticed how Olivia hugged Alex for a couple of seconds longer when she picked her up. Fitz didn't comment on it. It was her first _where is my child_ scare. But after a couple of hours of playing dress up with Alex and dinner, they were lying in bed, fully clothed.

"What if Alex doesn't turn out right." Olivia whispered.

"What?" Fitz tried not to laugh, but a soft chuckle betrayed him.

Olivia sighed deeply, rolling away from him.

"Hey, wait." Fitz protested, trying to turn her back to him, but she wouldn't budge. "I'm sorry. That statement was just very left field."

"Stop." Olivia protested, halfheartedly. She held herself together until she felt his unshaven scruff purposefully nudging her shoulder. "You need to shave that soon." She squirmed until she was facing him.

"It got your attention, so I'll keep it around." He smirked, pulling a stray strand of hair from her face. "Talk to me. Why do you think that Alex will turn out…not right?"

"I have no idea what I'm doing." She mumbled.

"You are an incredible mother." Fitz kissed her nose.

"Why does that sound like a mother telling her son he's handsome, even though no girl will go to prom with him?"

"Do you want me to get a stranger off of the street to tell you?" Fitz chuckled.

"I want some type of guarantee that Alex will be normal… smart… happy."

"Yeah, well, you can't get that. Welcome to parenting."

"What if I lost her today?"

"It was a mistake." Fitz said. "Do you know how many times I forgot Jerry at the supermarket? He's fine. He's at Harvard."

"Was the first thought you had when you realized that he was lost that someone kidnapped him? That someone exacted their personal vengeance on your professional life by taking him?" Olivia asked.

Fitz was silent. He understood why she was acting so on edge after the mishap. "I'm sorry, I—"

"How can Alex grow up _normal_ if she is surrounded by my batshit crazy life?"

" _Not_ normal isn't always bad… Michael Jackson didn't have a normal childhood." Fitz kissed her nose, causing the corner of her mouth to curl the slightest bit. "Monday, you will get straight back to work, handling overpaid NFL players and coke snorting CEOs. Your life will get back to normal. Well, _your_ type of normal. You have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you." Olivia smiled. She took a deep breath, running her fingers through his hair down to his neck. "I was thinking… and I know that we are taking things slow."

"We can change that." Fitz smirked, sliding his leg between hers.

"Slow down there." Olivia chuckled softly. "The other day, Alex asked me why she was lighter than me."

"Lighter?"

"Her skin."

"What did you say?"

"I told her that her father was white, like you… and she asked me if you were her father."

"And?"

"I said no." Olivia whispered. "I told her that her father isn't here anymore, but that I love you a lot. And you love her a lot too." Olivia reached under the covers to take his hand in hers, bringing it to her chest.

"How did she take it?" Fitz asked. "I mean, the news that you like me must be a real shocker to her."

"I don't think she grasped any of it." Olivia laughed, before getting serious, her voice barely a whisper. "But I wanted to say that you were her father."

"You did?" Fitz asked, a lump forming in his throat.

"I did." Olivia sighed softly. "And I know that we are taking this slow…"

"You already said that."

"If you want… I mean if you don't it won't be a big deal, it won't _change_ anything. You will still be here for us…"

"Just ask me what you want." Fitz said.

"Would you want to adopt Alex?"

"Really?" Fitz leaned up on his elbow.

"I don't want to do this alone." Olivia felt a tear slide sideways down her cheek. "I don't want her to grow up without a father."

"I would be honored."

"Really?"

"That is the best question I think has ever been popped to me." Fitz grinned. He kissed her aggressively, showering her face with kisses.

"Fitz, _stop_ , a simple yes would have done it." Olivia laughed as she fended him off, eventually giving in to his eager advances. She kissed him deeply, slowly grazing her tongue along his. "I don't know what order these things are supposed to go." Olivia commented, pulling back. She ran her hand through his hair, tenderly combing out a tangle. "Between marrying you, moving in together, becoming co-parents… I don't know how we are supposed to do this. What order is normal?"

"Whatever feels right." Fitz kissed her forehead.

"All I know is that I want to do all of it with you…" Olivia rolled on top of him, propping her elbows on his chest. "I'm just scared that we will take on more than we can handle."

"As long as we have each other, we will be fine." Fitz mumbled, rubbing his hands along her thighs.

"That's what people say at the beginning of the movie." Olivia said. "But around 45 minutes in, their lives are crumbling to some slow Norah Jones break up song."

"That just makes for better make-up sex." Fitz joked, flipping her over. "I said yes. I would be honored to be Alex's father. You shouldn't have to go through this on your own."

"I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her softly. "Now, can we please start practicing for the super-hot, super-flexible make-up sex we will no doubt have one day."

"Wait." Olivia put her hand over his mouth, the only way she knew how to stop his insatiable advances. "Pause on the practice. I think I want to marry you."

"What?" Fitz mumbled through her hand.

"I want to be married to my baby's father." Olivia finally removed her hand. "I don't want to be your adoptive baby mama, I want to be your wife."

"I think that technically, I would be _your_ adoptive baby daddy." Fitz grinned. "But you can't just propose to me."

"I can't?" Olivia scoffed. "It's the twenty-first century."

"But what about my pride? My masculinity? I've got to propose like a man to you. You have to be surprised and shit. It's got to be grand."

"If you propose to me with a flash mob or some corny shit like that, then I will say no just to embarrass your ass."

"Noted." Fitz grinned the biggest grin she had ever seen him grin.

/

"Good morning all." Olivia said as she walked into the conference room. "I hope everybody is refreshed, because we have a new client. Freedom Airlines is under fire for kicking off a passenger because her skirt was too short. We need to get ahead of this _before_ their stocks plummet. I need—wait. Where is Abbey?"

"In her office." Marcus chuckled.

"Abbey." Olivia called down the hallway. "Get in here."

Abbey emerged from her office as red as a lobster.

"What the hell happened to you?" Olivia laughed out loud.

"Don't ever give us a vacation again." Abbey muttered. "Now I remember why I haven't been to Florida to visit my parents in years."

Marcus extended one finger into her arm like he was petting a wild animal. He snickered at how she winced at the contact, earning her palm to the back of his head.

"White people." Olivia chuckled as she got back to business. "Quinn, gather any and all articles being published about this. Keep tabs on the reporters working for each source as well. Huck, I want their stocks micro-monitored. Let me know the second anything begins to dip. Abbey, get me a profile on the girl. Try and determine if she is planning on suing or not. Also, get yourself some aloe vera lotion. I don't want you peeling if you have to go on camera."

"Yes, mom." She left to get to work, leaving just Marcus.

"Marcus, I need you to type a report with every legal possibility that could come from her suing the airline."

"Uh, can I actually talk to you privately?" Marcus asked.

"Of course." Olivia motioned for him to follow her to her office. "What's on your mind?" Olivia asked as she leaned against her desk.

"I reached a decision about your offer."

"Oh, right." Olivia honestly forgot about that. "Well?"

"I hated you when I first met you. You were an arrogant, pompous bitch. You were so goddamn smug, I honestly hoped that we would never work together. I had no idea when B6-13 recruited me that you would be behind it. Well, I guess you weren't a part of my recruitment, but you did have the power to turn me away. At that point, I didn't see much else of an option. Even working for you would've been better than the boring 9-5 job I was stuck in. Plus you offered me the one thing I've ever wanted: to be a successful politician."

"We can immediately get started on strategy—"

"Let me finish. After working for you for… well I guess it's been over a year. I realized you are an arrogant, pompous bitch. You ask way too much from us, thrust us into morally compromising positions… You pretty much have turned us into gladiator zombies. It is practically cult-like, if I'm being honest. Which is why I'm always cautious that you will offer is Kool-Aid one day."

"Okay, get to your point." Olivia laughed at his theatrics.

"But you work harder than I've ever seen anybody else work in my entire life. You lead by example. You have found us and turned us into a family. Something I never knew I needed." Marcus took a deep breath. "So, as much as I'd hate to see my childhood dreams of having my hand on the bible in front of the United States Capitol go up in smoke, I don't want to lose this family."

"It's not like the second you run for office we will vanish." Olivia said.

"I don't want to lose the fulfillment I get from solving these cases. This job has made me realize that running for office would just be a half step up from the ACLU. I would be doing meaningful work and _changing the world_ in some cliché way, but I wouldn't be happy. Maybe you ruined me and turned me into an adrenaline junkie. But I want to stay."

Olivia walked towards him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I am very glad to hear that."

"Do I get a raise with this? I mean, you _did_ say how well I did on the French scandal."

Olivia rolled her eyes, "You can get me a legal report on how a lawsuit would affect the airline. _Then_ , I might reconsider your salary."

* * *

 **I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. I figured we needed some fluff after the last coupld of chapters. I haven't started on ch. 13 yet, so it mught be a while before I update. Don't forget to review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sooooo sorry about taking so long with this. I actually finished the chapter a couple of weeks ago, and just forgot to post it. Also, thanks to the reviews. Y'all are pretty cool.**

 **I'll be doing a bit of travelling in these next couple of weeks, so I will have a lot of downtime to devote to writing this.** **Ch. 14 should be right around the corner. Thank you for your patience, and enjoy!**

* * *

"About fucking time." David Rosen said as he saw Olivia walk in to the conference room where her team was waiting for her.

"Good morning, David." Olivia said pleasantly smiled, ignoring his tone. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Yeah, if it wasn't being scrutinized by the fucking NSA and whoever investigates internal scandals within the Justice Department."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how I have allowed you and your band of criminals—yes, I know that term includes my girlfriend—to illegally use the software I have access to as the District Attorney of Washington fucking D.C one too many times, and now the fucking feds are on my ass."

Abbey put her hand on his arm to restrain his emphatic arm waving. "This morning, an associate used the QR facial recognition software to try to identify a human trafficker and noticed its history did not match the official logs. She came to David with questions… Questions he couldn't answer."

"Questions I _could_ answer, but I'd rather not be fired for using _government_ intelligence to help a private firm. A private firm, might I add, that is at the odds with law enforcement more times than not."

"What did you say?" Olivia asked, setting her things down.

"I told her I wasn't sure, but I would take care of it."

"Did you ask her what exactly she found?"

"All she said that there were some unauthorized searches on the history. I checked it out, and the only unauthorized searches are the times I thought I was doing something for the cause of _justice_ or _white hats_ and whatever the fuck you call it."

"And all that you said was that you would look into it?"

"Yes."

"Not good." Olivia started to pace.

"What do you mean 'not good'?" David asked in indignation.

"That is the shadiest response you could have." Olivia reprimanded. She normally would've practiced better manners, but they had a long, tiresome history, and she knew she had to be blunt. "Any curiosity she has will be directed at you. Questions like, 'why was he so short?' and, 'what if it was him?' are circulating her brain right now."

"So, I was supposed to, what, ask her to look further into it?"

"You should have asked her to show you what she found and carried it out like you were actually investigating it."

"I'm sorry that I am not used to being grilled about my transgressions." David said sarcastically.

"It is okay. We will handle it. Go back to work. Go to your associate and ask her to show you what she found. Apologize for being so busy and short that morning. Make it sound natural. Write down everything she said like you are taking the threat seriously. Then fax us what you wrote down. Lay low. Act normal."

"Don't even think about charging me for—"

"Okay, David. Go back to work." Abbey pushed him out of the conference room.

"How much of that was real and how much of that was David being theatrical?" Olivia asked Abbey after she returned from shoving David into the elevator.

"It's pretty serious." Abbey said.

Olivia paced with her hand over her mouth for an uncomfortable amount of time. Her gladiators sat there, waiting for orders.

"What are you thinking?" Marcus asked.

Olivia was silent for a moment longer. "This can be nicked in the bud quickly. If David makes his associate think that he is seriously investigating the material, then we craft a perfect excuse for it that he explains to her to make her think it was a simple computing mistake. She doesn't press it: crisis adverted."

"What do you want us to do?" Quinn asked.

"We wait until David gives us word that she gave him details about what she found. Then we craft the excuse. Marcus. Research the government's legal language on the software and the consequences of sharing it. Abbey, find out everything you can about his associate. Anything we can possibly use in case things get dirty. Huck: erase any evidence on your system that shows we have had access to the software. Also, erase other things. Non-essential data so that it looks like you were doing spring cleaning, _not_ deleting incriminating evidence. It would not be a good look for us to get subpoenaed or worse… _prosecuted_." Olivia grabbed her purse and began to walk out of the door. "Quinn, help him with that."

"Where are you going?" Abbey asked.

"I have a short appointment. I'll be back by eleven. And I want results then. Call me once David gives word back." Olivia said over her shoulder as she left them to do their work.

/

Olivia browsed the rack of dresses. They were all so beautiful, but way too much.

"We custom selected all of them to fit you." The attendant beamed.

"Thank you for that. You are too kind." Olivia ran her hand over the fabric of one. "If it was your choice, what would you choose?"

"Well…" The attendant stammered. "Giancarlo was hoping that you would choose _this_ one." He ran his hand along a fiery red ball gown that had a conservative neckline, but a dramatic skirt. "But, if you ask me… _This_ one is way more complimentary." He selected a crisp black and white number that had dramatic cut outs.

"Would he be wounded if I chose this one?" Olivia joked as she observed the dress the attendant pointed out.

"If you don't say anything, I won't." He said with a flick of his wrist.

"I'll try your choice." Olivia stated, taking it off of the hanger. "It is only a hospital fundraiser. I don't need to attract Met Gala attention."

"Right?" He exclaimed, too eager. "I _told_ him that you needed something understated but sexy. He wouldn't listen."

"Well let's hope it fits, first." Olivia chuckled at his excitement. "But please send my warmest gratitude to Giancarlo and the entire team at Valentino for insisting on dressing me for my event. It was honestly too kind."

The attendant helped her into the roomy dressing room with the gown. "Puh- _lease_." He exaggerated. "It may be a small hospital fundraiser, but after your international stint… this dress means a lot."

"Don't remind me." Olivia joked in good nature as she slipped the dress up her body. "Zip me up?"

"Oh, _yasss._ Honey." The attendant swooned as he zipped up the dress up her back. "This is the one. I just _knew_ it would look this good."

Olivia shifted from side to side in the full mirror. "Is it not too much?"

"Girl, you don't even _need_ your fling with the French President to have people asking where you got this from." He gasped.

"It wasn't a fling. It was all international sensationalism." Olivia seriously regarded the gown, testing the flexibility. It was gorgeously white with black accents. There were dangerous cut outs, slicing down between her breasts, and along her sides, dipping down the back. She wondered how the dress remained glued to her skin, despite the abundant skin exposed.

"Honey, it doesn't matter what I think. The world is still watching you."

"I guess I'll take it." Olivia motioned for him to unzip her.

"You'll take it? Or you'll _take it_?" He questioned. "Because he won't accept anything but complete satisfaction."

"It is perfect." She assured. "No complaints."

"Yay." He clasped his hands gleefully. "No nurse or doctor's wife stands a _chance_ against you."

Olivia's phone rang, making her reach for her purse, as he unzipped her. "What?"

"We have a bad situation." Abbey said over the phone.

"Bad that you can tell me? Or bad enough that you need to tell me in person?" Olivia said as she slipped back into her work clothes.

"Let's just say that we need to go to plan C for David."

"I'll be there in fifteen." She hung up, tossing her phone back in her purse. "Should I take the dress with me now?"

"Oh, don't worry." He took the dress and dutifully put it back on the hanger. "Our people will deliver it tonight to your apartment."

"Thank you." Olivia quickly dressed. "Again, tell Giancarlo that it was too kind for him to insist on dressing me. Tell him that I am very happy with my choice."

"Valentino suits you perfectly" The attendant squealed as he showed her out of the DC shop.

/

"Plan C?" Olivia asked as she powerwalked into the conference room.

"His assistant reported it above him." Abbey was already pacing. "Now he is probably being investigated by the fucking president."

"Calm down." Olivia put her hand on Abbey's shoulder to stop her frantic pacing. "Marcus, _please_ give me good news."

"Good news is that there is a lot of heavy protocols and paperwork necessary for something like this. The FBI takes on threats like this. After it is filed and assigned investigators, we are looking at a minimum of a week before they have the power to do anything. But the bad news outweighs the good. Rosen can, and probably will, be tried as a tried for treason. The legal ramifications are brutal, with little room for interpretation."

"No, no, _no_." Abbey threw her hands to her head as she resumed her pacing.

"Calm down." Olivia snapped. "Abbey. My office. Now."

Olivia waited until Abbey retreated to her office before continuing. "I need the names of the people in charge of the investigation _pronto_."

"I might be able to hack their—"

"I don't need _might_ , I need _done."_ Olivia snapped at Huck. "If we can get ahead of the people in charge of the investigation, then we can beat this. B613 has afforded us a few favors left. We can negotiate out of this."

Olivia went into her office to deal with Abbey. Abbey was already breaking into her wine cabinet.

"Slow down." Olivia warned, but Abbey already popped the cork of a low range bottle.

"Don't worry." Abbey said as she retrieved a glass. "I'm not breaking open one of your fancy bottles, this is the cheap shit… Should I pour you a glass?"

"Go ahead." Olivia sat on her couch as Abbey handed her a glass. "Everything is going to be okay."

"Yeah, that fake client bullshit doesn't work on me." Abbey sat across from her, chugging her glass.

"You need to keep a clear mind." Olivia warned, sipping her glass.

"How do you do this?" Abbey asked, pouring a second glass. Olivia took the bottle from her so she couldn't advance past her second glass. "How do you handle this fucking stress when it threatens your personal life? Like, I thought I had a grasp on what happened when your face was on the international press for supposedly fucking the French head of state, but now that it is in my face, I'm lost for words."

"You need to take a breath." Olivia put her hand over Abbey's glass, walking her through a deep breath.

"I was planning on proposing to him." Abbey stated, ignoring her attempts to calm her down. "I wanted to do it over the break, but it just didn't feel right… But then I decided. I made my mind up. I was going to propose to him—it's the 21st century, you know? He was too scared to bring it up, but we both know. It is—or was—time to seal the deal. I have a reservation for Charmount this Friday. I was going to pop the question then. Just the question—let him figure out the ring after he accepted."

"Abbey—"

"But now that is all thrown to hell. How could he agree to marry me when I practically use him? I mean, I _don't_. But he thinks I just use him for the software and his justice contacts. How can I ask him to devote the rest of his life to me when he thinks I am just some power hungry vixen?"

"That is not what you are." Olivia moved her hand to Abbey's knee. "We have a plan."

"A plan that magically erases this? Or a plan that just patches up the holes?" Abbey asked, critically.

Olivia was silent for a moment, taking a sip. Before she could respond with a plan that she had cooking in her mind, Abbey interjected.

"It has taken me _years_ to be able to love and accept being loved—let alone someone's wife? It took me _years_. You know. You were the one who rescued me from that monster who used to show me off to his country club buddies as if later that night, he wouldn't be beating me into the floorboards. You know what he did to me… But David is sweet and kind and dorky, and he loves me. I can't lose him."

"If David loves you, then this won't define your relationship."

"Then why do I feel like my window is closing?"

"Window? What window?" Olivia raised her eyebrows.

"The window that involves marriage and babies and whatever the fucking modern version of a white picket fence is."

"That window is only self-prescribed. It doesn't exist." Olivia assured. "You are still young and—"

"How do you do it?" Abbey ignored her. "I'm honestly asking. How does Mr. Doctor put up with your shit? You guys have been together for what, now? 2 years? How is he okay with you pushing him aside for your career? He has to feel shafted, right? Or have you managed to find the one perfect man in the Metro D.C. area that doesn't make you feel like you have a fucking clock ticking, telling you when you have to follow the normal order of career, marriage, kids. Except, that the career is the most inhibiting—"

" _Abbey_." Olivia took Abbey's wine glass from her, in fear that she would spill it. "Clam down."

"Easier said than done." Abbey spat.

" _Listen to me_." Olivia put her palm to Abbey's cheek. "I'm not saying this as a person working on David's case, I'm saying this as _your friend._ Take a deep breath with me."

Olivia took a deep inhale, making sure that Abbey followed her. When Abbey had finally taken a couple of breaths, calming her down, Olivia continued. "We have enough favors in our war chest to make sure that David is okay."

"But what does that _mean?_ " Abbey challenged. "If he wants to run for office one day, will this be some dirt that can be dug up?"

Olivia sighed deeply. "I can't guarantee perfection. Nothing is ever clean in this business."

"But—"

" _But_ , I can guarantee that David will come out on top."

"What does that even mean?!" Abbey asked.

Olivia took a moment to herself to imagine if Fitz was in his same position. For all fairness of point, he _was_ at one point, but they weren't together at that point. She pushed herself to imagine that it was now, and he was facing his faux-sexual harassment incident. She could see the love in Abbey's eyes that scared her. It was time to explain her plan.

"We have two options here: Plan _B_ and Plan _C_. David is currently the District Attorney of D.C. The worst option is to transfer him to a lateral position within the National justice department. That is Plan B—"

"He will _hate_ that. He loves being his own boss. He will never forgive—"

" _Listen_." Olivia resisted the urge to slap her to bring her to her senses. "The best option—Plan C—is this: The Attorney General may be stepping down. His daughter has stage three leukemia. It is a very private matter now, but if I can play it right—and I think I can—we can get David the Attorney General position."

"Wait-what?" Abbey did a double take. "Like the Attorney General over the entire United States?"

"Yes." Olivia confirmed. "But it is an uphill battle for him. We have to act quickly. If we get him in place before the feds can even realize a misnomer happened with the QR software, then, it will work. But he will have to go through grueling hearings to get the job."

Abbey put her hand to her mouth and stared at a patch of the rug in Olivia's office.

"I ask this of you in complete honesty… Do you think David can go before the Senate to be approved? I know that he is clean. He has no skeletons in his closet other than a 12 parking violations, which is not a crime, just kind of… pitiful. But I need to know if he is capable of the job. Do you think he can handle that scrutiny? The media attention and responsibility?"

"How would this even be possible?"

"I have a few favors in my chest from the B613 handover." Olivia explained. "But I can't put all of our firm's remaining eggs in this basket unless you believe that he can deliver."

"He can." Abbey nodded, making steely eye contact with Olivia. "But how can you guarantee that the current attorney general will resign for his daughter?"

"Over a cliff." Olivia smirked, leaning back and taking a sip of her wine. "That catchphrase isn't a one way street."

"Okay." Abbey clinked her glass against Olivia's. "What do you want me to do?"

"Tell David of our plan. But… do it lightly. Make sure he doesn't freak out. We need him to act naturally, and—no offense to the love of your life, but—he can overreact at times."

"He will be on board. No doubt." Abbey rose to leave.

"Also…" Olivia stopped her before she left. "Propose to him before you tell him of our plan. That way, he won't think that we are handing him this job only to manipulate him. That is not a good look for our firm or you."

"Okay, boss." Abbey nodded, rising to leave her office.

"Do you at least have a ring picked out?" Olivia asked as she was halfway out of the door. "Because it doesn't hurt to have a reference image."

"Is this coming from experience, or…?" Abbey winked.

"Get to work." Olivia rolled her eyes as she dismissed Abbey. She still had a pretty full glass of wine in her hand. Her team had their duties to complete, so she spent the next fifteen minutes finishing her glass.

Abbey's previous words rung in her mind.

" _Or have you managed to find the one perfect man in the Metro D.C. area that doesn't make you feel like you have a fucking clock ticking, telling you when you have to follow the normal order of career, marriage, kids…"_

Olivia honestly pondered if Fitz had a point on some things.

 **A FEW NIGHTS BEFORE**

" _Think about it." He said honestly._

" _I don't want to think right now." Olivia groaned as she skillfully unbuttoned his shirt. She had his shirt down his arms and to the floor in seconds._

" _You should, though." Fitz countered as she undid his belt buckle, sliding his pants and boxers as far down his thighs as his thighs and her hands could reach. She aggressively grabbed his cock, stroking him to her entrance. He moaned, giving up a little of his resolve._

" _We are not about to have this conversation right now." Olivia said sternly. "You can either help me out here, or I can go crack open the paperwork on my coffee table._

" _Fuck." He moaned as he gripped her hips and thrust himself into her._

" _That's more like it." Olivia whispered in a throaty voice. "Just fuck me."_

" _Your wish." Fitz embedded himself balls deep into her, stifling her moans of pleasure and pain with his palm. "Is my command."_

" _Mhdmsdf." Olivia moaned into his hand as he stroked into her relentlessly. No matter what premise their sex came, it was always great. He pounded into her the way that she liked until she came. Fitz was conscious enough to keep his hand over her mouth, so that her pleasured moans did not wake the toddler in the other room. He came shortly after, burying his face into the pillow by her face._

 _Fitz rolled off of her, instinctively pulling her flush against him in their post-coital high. "Livvie…"_

" _Mhmm?"_

" _We can't keep doing this."_

" _Really? Because I would actually like to keep doing_ this _for a while." She smirked._

" _I can't keep spending the night here like I'm your college beau."_

" _Then we can spend more time at your place." Olivia kissed his chest and laid her head against it. "I can buy a second set of stuff for Alex so she can comfortably spend the night at your place… If that is okay with you."_

" _That is not what I mean." Fitz sighed, deeply._

 _Olivia danced her fingertips across his chest. "When it feels right."_

" _I'm too old to play games, Olivia." Fitz muttered._

" _Excuse me?" Olivia raised her head to look him in the eyes._

" _I'm trying to understand why you are dragging your feet."_

" _I'm not dragging my feet." Olivia said defensively. "We agreed that we would start looking, and that's it."_

" _But you won't even look." Fitz said with exasperation. "Every time I bring it up, you change the subject or act too busy."_

" _Why are you trying to pressure me into something I'm not ready for?" Olivia asked, sitting up and pulling herself away from him._

" _Oh, so now you aren't ready for it? Last time I checked, you were. Or were you just saying those words to make me feel better…"_

 _Olivia was silent for a moment, looking at him closely. She could feel herself getting angry, but she was way too tired for a fight. "I think I will get a head start on that paperwork." She left the bed to grab her robe._

" _That's what I mean." Fitz muttered, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling._

 _Olivia wanted to respond, but she held her tongue. She flipped the light off and went to work in the living room._

"Fuck…" Olivia said out loud to herself. She checked herself, glancing over her shoulder to see the conference room empty and her team at work. She downed the rest of her wine glass—she would be caught dead before she left a glass unfinished. She settled behind her desk, determined to make something work.

She had a long afternoon ahead of her. On her to-do list:

-Find a way to convince (blackmail?) the current Attorney General into leaving his post to tend to his ailing daughter.

-Cushion a backup plan for David. The _Plan B_. A position within the national justice department that had just as much jurisdiction, but not as much freedom as his current position.

-Actually search for a future home for her daughter and the love of her life. And _actually_ look for something that would satisfy both of their needs.

She had four hours until she had to pick up Alex from day care and prepare for Fitz's Hospital's fundraising gala. It was a time crunch.

/

"Have a good night and drive safe." Olivia pleasantly showed the nanny out of her apartment. Once she was safely in the elevator, she shut her door, leaning back against it.

"You lost tonight." Fitz smirked, crossing over to her. He was already shedding his tuxedo jacket. "I won."

"I didn't necessarily lose." Olivia smirked, slipping off her heels.

"You were less winning than me." Fitz put his hands on her hips, taking his liberties in exploring the inviting cut outs over her dress. The smell of scotch was heavy on his breath. Their previous fight was out of sight and out of mind. They didn't exactly have time to unpack their minds, when the next time they saw each other was to go to the annual hospital gala.

Olivia slowly untied his bow tie. "I got the part about him being piss drunk by nine right."

"You bet that Dr. Humphrey would not leave the gala early with someone other than his wife." Fitz tenderly removed the earrings from her ears. "I bet that he would leave with his nurse. But he left with one of the servers."

"So technically, you weren't right."

"My God, you are a sore loser." Fitz reached around her to unzip her dress.

"That is fair. But I still won't accept that you won." Olivia smirked as he slid her dress down her body, letting it fall freely to her ankles. "And we never established a wager." Olivia bent down to retrieve her dress, loosely hanging it over her shoulders. "I need to check on Alex. I'll see you in the bedroom." She whispered against his cheek, before slipping past him.

Fitz chuckled, holding her earrings in his hand. "I can't wait to see you play a game of monopoly." He called after her, making his way to her bedroom.

Olivia returned in a few minutes and went straight to the bathroom. Fitz raised an eyebrow as the shower started. He followed her into the bathroom to find her completely naked, except for her necklace. She noticed him standing there as she reached around to unclasp the jewelry.

"I was hoping you'd join me." She smiled, setting the necklace on the counter.

"You need to be taught a lesson." Fitz pressed his body behind hers, watching her naked reflection in the mirror.

"Which is?" Olivia asked snidely.

"Losers have to pay the penalty." Fitz brought his hands to her breasts, teasing her nipples in his hands.

"Which is?" Olivia gasped.

"You are about to find out." Fitz whispered, devouring her mouth. Olivia moaned as he roughly gripped her waist, pushing her onto the counter. Olivia reached for the collar of his shirt, ripping the buttons off. As he shrugged his shirt off as she made work of his pants, shoving them down to his ankles.

"Don't think that this earth shattering sex will make me accept that I lost—" Olivia was cut off by Fitz thrusting into her. "Ah." She choked out.

Fitz bit her shoulder, pounding into her. Olivia grazed her teeth along his neck, making Fitz squeeze her ass harder. It was partially the liquor the consumed that night, and partially the way that they were continually crazy for each other.

"Townhome." Olivia gasped, clawing her fingernails across his back.

"Townhome?"

"Roomy space. Central to the city. Near a nice neighborhood park."

"What are you talking about? No talking right now." Fitz groaned.

"I'm talking about our future home." Olivia whispered, biting along his neck.

Fitz paused, pulling back. He briskly pulled her off of the counter and turned her around. Olivia was face to face with their reflection as he parted her legs and began to finish what he started. "Keep talking." He gruffly moaned into her neck

"Uh… I want exposed brick." Olivia moaned, bracing against the counter. "It's kind of a… _fuck_."

Fitz filled her, grabbing her hair and pulling her head back into his chest. She was at a loss for words. "I told you to keep talking."

The steam from the abandoned shower was fogging the mirror and making the air thick.

"Three bedrooms, possibly." Olivia struggled to get the words out. "And a, uh, _shit_." She hit her palm against the counter. "One for Alex, one for us, one for extra space or…"

"Mmhmmm." Fitz palmed her breasts, rolling her nipples in his fingers. "Keep talking."

"Guest room." Olivia gasped. Hitting her hand against the mirror. "I can't talk."

"Talk about the house." Fitz grumbled.

"We can redecorate Alex's room every…" Olivia bowed her head, gasping for air. "Every couple of…"

Fitz covered her mouth for the sake of waking Alex up as she came, biting his hand.

"Ugh." He spent himself, biting her shoulder to contain his own sounds.

They stood there, panting, in complete silence. Olivia finally, reached behind her to pat his cheek. "I'm going to cramp up if we don't change this position."

Fitz chuckled, sliding out of her. "I think the shower might be warm enough."

Olivia laughed, rubbing her hands along his sweaty chest. "If I knew that real estate made you so hot, we could have fucked to HGTV sooner."

"I like the idea of a townhome." Fitz kissed her forehead. "You already have a place picked out, don't you?"

"What are you doing tomorrow morning?" Olivia grinned, as they stepped into the shower. "Georgetown."

"Three bedrooms, eh?"

"Yes."

"One for us, one for Alex, and one extra. A guest bedroom."

"A guest bedroom?"

"Yes. For when Karen or Jerry want to stay. Or anybody else."

"A little brother for Alex?"

"Fitz…" Olivia

"Or sister. I'm not picky. Alex needs someone to pick on and show how to do makeup when she is of an appropriate age."

Olivia's voice was barely a whisper. "I have thought of it."

"You have?" He grinned. He pulled her hair onto the top of her head and tied it in a sloppy bun.

"Slow." Olivia wrapped her arms around his waist and put her chin to his chest as the water hit their naked bodies. "You can't knock me up, marry me, adopt my current kid, and move in at the same time. I can only handle a limited number of major life changes at a time."

"Why does Alex get her own room? Seniority should rule, right?"

"Shut up." Olivia elbowed him in the abs as she reached for the soap.

/

"David?" Abbey asked as her boyfriend zoomed around his condo, rearranging his belongings. He ignored her, consolidating boxes. " _David._ "

"What?" He asked, only halfway acknowledging her presence.

"What are you doing?" Abbey set her shared key down on a table.

"I'm preparing for when the police show up at my door. Do you know, as many times as I facilitated police busts, I never imagined that it would be at my door, reading my Miranda rights, like I don't already know them. Like it's some kind of—"

"Marry me." Abbey blurted.

"Cheesy cop show. I can't let my apartment be messy like cable TV shows… wait… what?" David stopped dead in his tracks.

"Marry me. I love you. You love me. I know, you said it when you thought I was asleep, but I still heard you, and—"

"Are you proposing to me?"

"I had a reservation at Charmount this Friday, but then all of this just got out of control…"

"Why now?" David cut her off.

"What do you mean _why now_?" Abbey asked. "I love you. We shouldn't be fucking around anymore."

"I mean. _Why are you proposing_ right now?" David crossed his modest apartment to her. "Is this some type of play to where Olivia is using you to pull a play over me? Because, don't get me wrong. I would love to marry you. I just don't know what is—"

"I had the reservation before all of this started." Abbey put her hands to his face, pulling him closer to her. "I've wanted to propose to you for a long ass time. I was just _scared_."

"Scared? Of _what_?" David asked.

"I don't know. But… You haven't answered me yet." Abbey regretted blurting out her proposal like that. All of her fears were surfacing. "But know that this isn't some type of one-chess-move-ahead-of-you. I've wanted to marry you for a long ass time now."

"Yes?" He pulled her down to his couch with him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Abigail Whelan. I want to marry you." He ran his thumb along her cheek.

"I love you. Whether that means that you are in a prison cell or the Attorney General of the United States of America" She said, connecting her lips to his. She wasn't sure if she should share Olivia's plan with him, but she couldn't help herself.

"Wait… What?" He pulled back.

"Olivia has… a _plan_."

"Of course she does." David sighed.

"If she plays this right, you could bypass years of work at your current job and ascend straight to the highest law enforcer in the country."

"And if she doesn't?" He asked critically.

"Then we'll figure it out together."

/

"Ready?" Olivia intertwined her fingers in Fitz's.

"You have no idea." He smirked as they walked up the steps of a townhome in Georgetown.

A realtor was waiting for them inside. She had a flawlessly colored blonde bob and was sporting an effortless pantsuit. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Fitz grinned, slightly swinging his hand in Olivia's. Olivia could tell how ecstatic he was to be there. Like a little kid at Disneyland.

"Why don't we jump into it all?" She turned on her heel, beginning the tour of the place. "The house was built in 1829, but was remodeled in 2014. This is the living room. That is the original fireplace, fully functioning. The kitchen is on the first floor as well. The rest of the bedrooms are upstairs."

Olivia and Fitz followed the realtor throughout the home, taking notes of every detail. The home was beautiful. It had the original character, but with modern functionality. After touring the final room, the realtor left them to themselves, promising to wait for them outside.

"Well?" Fitz asked after the realtor's heel clicks were well down the stairs.

"I like it." Olivia grinned, clasping her hands under her chin. "It is perfect."

"Really?" Fitz asked, putting his hands on her sides like he couldn't fully believe what he was hearing. "You really like it?

"I do." Olivia laughed out loud. "Do you?"

"I love it." Fitz kissed her briefly resting his forehead against hers. "Which room do you want to give to Alex?"

"The second bedroom. It's the closest to the master." Olivia pulled his arm around her shoulder as they gave the home a second run through with just themselves. "What will we do with the basement? A home office?"

"Your office is like four minutes away. You practically already have a home office."

"I meant for you."

"I don't have any work to bring home." He wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her downstairs into the basement. "A home gym? We could put a treadmill there." He motioned to the empty corner.

"If it would make you stop dragging me on your tortuous morning runs, I could agree to that." Olivia smiled, turning around in his arms.

"Deal."

"We could get some weights down here, so you could cancel your membership to that overpriced gym." Olivia ran her hands up and down his arms to let him know that she appreciated his toned shape.

"Let's go for a walk in the neighborhood." Fitz rubbed his hand along her hips. "Check out where Alex will be riding her first bike and what not."

"I would love to." Olivia put her hand to his cheek. "But I'm in the middle of a case at work. I should be getting back."

"Of course." Fitz nodded, kissing her softly. "Do you want me to pick up Alex from her day care?"

"No need to. I have to return my dress from yesterday, so I will already be out."

"You should keep that dress." Fitz pulled her closer, "I liked it."

"That's not how couture works." Olivia smiled, cocking her head to the side. "It is custom Valentino. I'm lucky that it was not ruined. Or else you would have owed me $4,000."

"Me?"

"You were very aggressive." Olivia winked. "You could have ripped it."

"You didn't seem to mind in the—"

Olivia's phone rang, interrupting him. She pulled back, retrieving her phone from her purse. "What?" She said in her usual snappiness. "I already sent out the statement to the press, they have their fair warning." Olivia checked her watch. "Shit, I thought I would be back by now. It is about to start… Go ahead and start leaking the names of other candidates to members of the press as well. It can't seem like any of this was a set up. I'll be at the office in five."

"I'm going to be seeing whatever this is on the news in ten minutes, aren't I?" Fitz asked.

Olivia checked her watch again before leaning up onto her toes to kiss the corner of his mouth. "More like seven minutes and twelve seconds. I have to go. I'll see you later."

/

"Well?" Olivia asked Abbey as she got back to the office.

"Everything is going to plan." Abbey said. "How did you manage to pull this off?"

"I meant about David." Olivia said in a lower voice with a raise of her eyebrow.

"He said yes." Abbey said with a smirk, turning up the TV's volume.

"That's incredible!" Olivia beamed. "Did you show him the ring?"

"I'm going to wait until he gets the job." Abbey said. "He's going to need this new paycheck to cover it."

"I'm so happy for you."

"But for real…" Abbey pivoted back to the case in front of them. "Are you completely sure that the President will nominate David?"

"I am sure." Olivia confirmed. "I made it clear that failure to cooperate would bring down the full fury of Olivia Pope & Associates on his office. He definitely doesn't want that."

"Popcorn?" Quinn walked into the conference room with a bowl. Marcus grabbed a handful, reclining in his chair to watch the rest of the statement.

"You know me too well." Olivia grabbed herself a few pieces, taking a seat.

"Can we break out the booze?"

"Save it for the President's announcement." Olivia winked. "Or when you get that ring."

/

 **A WEEK LATER**

"Good afternoon, Mellie." Olivia smiled pleasantly. She took in Mellie's office. It looked like it was out of a modern decorating magazine. Everything was perfectly in place.

"I thought it was surely a mistake that you popped up on my schedule this morning." Mellie looked up from some fabrics she had spread out on her desk. "What is up? Is it something with Karen?"

"I would like to hire you." Olivia said, taking a seat.

"How do you like your tea?" Mellie offered, reaching around to a Keurig.

"However you take it." Olivia said, as she started some tea for them.

"Why do you want to hire me? Your apartment is already complete."

"Fitz and I are moving into a townhome in Georgetown."

"You want me to furnish my ex-husband's new townhome with his girlfriend?"

"Please." Olivia accepted the tea. "I don't know anything about interior decorating. I'm lost in it. But I want it to be perfect… For him. He would be okay with however it looks, but I want it to be perfect. You know him, and you know his tastes."

Mellie leaned back in her chair, regarding Olivia. "Does Fitz know that you came to me?"

"Not yet. But he will be on board."

Mellie sipped her tea, searching Olivia's face. "How many bedrooms?"

"Three." Olivia smiled.

/

"Tell me something interesting about your day." Fitz sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. After a grueling shift, he needed to hear Olivia's voice to keep him awake on his drive home.

"Your day was that bad?" Olivia slid under the covers, resting her phone on her shoulder.

"You don't want to know."

"Alex has become obsessed with the Pledge of Allegiance. She has been memorizing it all day and marching around with her hand on her heart."

"That's so sweet." Fitz smiled, feeling better. "She will have to perform it for me soon."

"I put down an offer in Georgetown."

"How much?"

"1.5 mil."

"Do you think they will take it?"

"I don't know…" Olivia said honestly. "It's a historical home, but it's recently remodeled. Vintage is in right now."

"I guess we will just wait and see. Raise it, if we need to."

"I found a decorator." Olivia said softly, unsure if tonight was the right night to tell him. He was obviously tired and in a bad mood, but she didn't want to keep it from him.

"You found a decorator for a house we haven't even bought yet?" Fitz chuckled in amusement.

"Just thinking ahead." Olivia smiled, as if he could see her face through the phone. "You are getting old remember? We have limited time left together before the Grimm Reaper comes for you. I'm trying to make the most of it."

"You are only talking shit because I'm not there to punish you." Fitz growled, sending chills down her spine.

"Maybe."

"Who is it?"

"Who is who?"

"Who is the decorator? Mellie probably knows them."

"Actually, it is Mellie." Olivia waited to an awkward silence.

"You did not." Fitz sighed.

"Don't be mad." Olivia immediately regretted telling him over the phone. "I want someone trustworthy and convenient. She can handle things like this without us having to worry about it."

Olivia waited expectantly for a response. He was silent.

"Fitz…" Olivia sighed. "We shouldn't be having this discussion over the phone. I'm sorry. I should have waited until we were in person."

There was no response. Only more silence.

"Fitz?" Olivia asked. "Fitz, are you there?"

"Yes." He muttered. "If you think that Mellie is a good choice, I will support that."

"Really?"

"If that is what you want." Fitz said, almost shortly.

"But it isn't what you want." Olivia countered.

"Of course it isn't what I want." Fitz replied. "In what world would I want my ex-wife designing the house that I am starting my new life with my girlfriend in?"

"I'm sorry." Olivia heard a noise behind the door of her bedroom. "Hold on one second." She put her phone on her pillow. "Alex?"

Her daughter appeared in the doorway with tears in her eyes.

"Alex, baby, what's wrong?"

"I had a bad dream." Alex whimpered.

"Alright, come here." Olivia scooped her up in her arms and settled back under the sheets with her. "Mommy needs to finish a phone call, then we'll go to sleep together. And I'll protect you from any bad dreams. Okay?"

"Okay." Alex nodded, leaning her head against Olivia's chest.

"Fitz? Are you still there?" Olivia picked her phone back up to her ear.

"Yeah."

"I don't want to fight over this. If it will cause problems for you that she will work for us, then I can get someone else."

"I told you that I support whatever decision you make." Fitz repeated.

"But you clearly don't." Olivia said in a low soft voice not to upset Alex. "I was just trying to do something nice for you. I know about as much about interior decorating as I do about neuroscience. She is familiar and knows your taste."

"I don't want it to be my taste, I want it to be _our_ taste."

"But I don't care… I want it to feel like a home, and the furniture or wall colors don't make that. You, me, and Alex being happy in it does. That's it."

Fitz was silent for a moment, nothing but the late night air between them. "I want boundaries."

"Boundaries?" Olivia asked.

"I want all three of us to be united on _everything_. Equal input. No surprises."

"You got it."

"Isn't that a crazy thing to say? That my fiancé, ex-wife and I need to be on the same page about the life I'm about to live with you?" Fitz said in a lighter tone.

"It's just the house. We will make it our home and we will make our life together perfect." Olivia said. "And besides, I don't see a ring on my finger yet."

"I'm working on that." Olivia could practically see him wink. "But I'll let you soothe Alex to sleep. I am exhausted myself."

"Goodnight, love." Olivia held the phone to Alex's ear. "Say goodnight to Fitz."

"Goodnight Fitz." Alex yawned into Olivia's phone.

"Goodnight sweet girl."

Olivia hung up and flipped the light switch off. She snuggled under the blankets with Alex. "What did you dream about?" She whispered, stroking her hair.

"I dreamed I wasn't happy." Alex whispered.

"Are you happy now?"

Alex nodded her head, before nestling further into her mother to drift into a deep, dreamless sleep.

That was the simplicity Olivia needed to help herself into a deep sleep with her daughter in her arms.

/

 **I just want to make it known that I had written out the townhome in Georgetown before I saw on Tumblr that there were recent Olitz scenes in season 6 and watched the throwback/what-if episode. I was wildly amused that the writers would have Olivia think of a townhome in Georgetown. Small detail, but still. It tickled me.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everybody! I meant to post this over a week ago, but I got sucked into a summer job that is pretty muck 24/7. The good news is that I have Ch. 15 locked down and ready to post. I will post it soon, then try to squeeze another one out before the summer ends. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Olivia could tell that Fitz was exhausted. He just finished an overnight shift at the hospital, but insisted on making it to their first design meeting with Mellie. She could tell just by looking at him that he didn't want to be there.

"Do you think that you could pick up Alex for me today? I gave her nanny the day off to go to her granddaughter's state soccer tournament. With David's confirmation hearing tomorrow, it would take a lot off of my plate." Olivia asked as they were in the elevator.

"I can't." He said apologetically. "I have an appointment."

"An appointment?" Olivia raised her eyebrow. "With whom?"

"It is an annual evaluation by the hospital."

"Something to worry about?"

"No, not at all." The elevator dinged open.

"They shouldn't have asked you to come back after a long shift." Olivia rubbed his shoulder. "You are tired already."

"I'm fine." Fitz responded, "It is nothing to worry about."

Olivia paused before they went into her office. "Please be polite in there." Olivia asked.

"It is Mellie we are talking about." Fitz said, not masking his disapproval. "I think I can act civil."

"Fitz…"

"Come on." He ignored her pause, opening the door to her office space. Her secretary immediately showed them to her office.

They promptly stated their meeting, finalizing budget for each room. Olivia was grateful that Fitz and she previously planned out the budget, because he was barely contributing.

"So, I have a couple of styles in mind, but these are all in progress. I just wanted to give you a couple of options to get the process started. I was thinking that we don't try to erase the history of the home, but lighten it up to make it feel roomier and modern." Mellie pulled out mood boards with examples.

Olivia squeezed Fitz hand in hers, drawing it into her lap. She nodded to Mellie to continue.

"Why don't we start on the master bedroom?" Mellie pulled poster boards with swatches and reference images onto their stands. "What do you think, just from a first glance?"

"I like the detailing on the trim there." Olivia pointed to one of the boards. "What do you think, Fitz?"

"It's nice." He said flatly. Olivia shot him a look.

"A concern of mine is timeliness. I'll be moving out of my apartment in a month. I know that is a time crunch. It doesn't have to be fully livable, but I would like to at least be able to move in then."

"That won't be an issue. We can prioritize the master and second bedroom. Of course the kitchen is already functional."

"Great." Olivia smiled. She squeezed Fitz's hand, trying to draw him in. "Which drapes do you like the best?"

"They all look fine." Fitz rose, leaving her office before either had a moment to process.

"I'm sorry, I…" Olivia didn't know if she was supposed to chase Fitz or finish the meeting. "Could you email those to me?"

Mellie didn't have a chance to respond before she was out of her office.

Olivia caught up to Fitz in the parking garage next to Mellie's office. "Fitz what the hell?"

He ignored her, making his way to his car. Olivia practically jogged to catch up to him. He tried to open his car door, but Olivia stopped him, putting herself between him and his car.

"That was rude." Olivia crossed her arms.

"I gave my opinion. What more do you want from me?"

"To not act like a prick?" Olivia rolled her eyes. "You could have said no, and we could have gotten a different decorator. But you said that you would cooperate."

"I'm here aren't I?"

"I'm not so sure." Olivia challenged. He didn't budge, like he was just waiting for her to move out of his way. "Fine. I'm not going to argue with you in a parking garage. Call me when you want to act more mature than Alex."

Olivia was hoping that he would have the gall to say something back, but he just got in his car the second she moved out of his way. Olivia was furious at the fact that he would breeze past her like that and drive off.

Unfortunately, her anger did not subside even into the evening. The mountain of work for David's confirmation was a great outlet to channel her irritation into, but Alex was in a nonstop tantrum mode from the second she picked her up from her day care.

She was so exhausted by the time she got home, that she ordered delivery for her and Alex. As she was cleaning up Alex's face from her messy dinner, she heard a knock at the door. A quick check of her peephole let her know who was on the other side.

"What?" She asked as she opened the door just the width of her body.

"You didn't show up for dinner." Fitz held up containers of the dinner he cooked.

"I forgot." She didn't budge from her position blocking the door.

"Well… Do you want this?" Fitz held up the containers of food. He expected her to move to let him in, but she didn't budge.

"We already ate." Olivia crossed her arms.

"Liv…"

"Do you want to apologize for earlier today?" Olivia raised her eyebrows.

"Can I come in?" Fitz sighed, feeling ridiculous standing in her hallway.

Olivia leaned her head against the door frame. "I am not in the mood to fight. I'm really tired, and I have to be up really early tomorrow… You should go."

She began to close the door, but Fitz wedged his foot in it, stopping her. "You won't get any sleep if you go to bed mad at me."

Olivia looked him up and down before sighing. Her stubbornness cracked just enough to leave the door as she went back to wiping down Alex.

"Alright, bath time." Olivia picked up Alex, carrying her into her bathroom.

"I'm not tired." Alex protested.

"Yes you are." Olivia replied back.

Fitz followed her, but kept his distance. He could tell that both Alex and Olivia were in a mood. The last thing he wanted was to be the match to the gunpowder of either of them.

Olivia tucked Alex in kissed her goodnight. She changed into her pajamas herself, and went to pour a glass of wine. Fitz sat, waiting for her.

"You embarrassed me today. You embarrassed yourself." She said in a low voice as she put a wine topper back on the bottle and returned it to the cabinet.

"I'm sorry." Fitz said as she took a seat across from him.

"Why are you being so difficult with this?" Olivia asked. She wasn't being accusatory. She genuinely wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"I don't want Mellie to decorate our home, because I feel like it is dragging my past into my future." Fitz sighed.

"Why are you so hung up on her?" Olivia asked. "I honestly don't understand it. She cheated on you. I get it. It hurt, _really_ bad. But you are over it, right? You _say_ that you are over it."

"Of course." Fitz defended.

"So now, you co-parent, and are civil. I get that she isn't your go-to BFF that you vent to over apple martinis… but I don't understand why you are being so strange about this. All she is doing is taking care of our furnishings and shit. It isn't like she is living with us. Honestly, the fact that you can't separate your ex-wife from a professional interior decorator is concerning."

"It isn't about my pride or anything stupid like that. It is about wanting a clean slate."

Olivia said that she was not up for a fight, but neither of them could stop the tension rising.

"You don't understand…"

"Then help me understand."

"Would you want remnants of Jake in our relationship?" Fitz blurted.

"What the fuck do you think Alex is?" Olivia whispered, deep in emotion. His question hurt her more than she cared to show. "It is not the same. Mellie _is not_ Jake."

"I'm sorry." Fitz immediately apologized, his tone softened. He reached across the table to take her hand in his. "I didn't mean it like that."

"If this means that much to you…" Olivia pulled her hands back as soon as he touched hers, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "Then we can get a new decorator."

"Liv…"

Her phone rang, and she was almost grateful to hear it. "Marcus, what?" She asked. "Well then tell him that if he doesn't, then there is no way in hell that—actually, let me take care of it. Send me his home number. And you better not be letting Abbey do any of the work. We agreed that she would sit this one out for obvious reasons." She hung up, typing furiously into her phone. "I have work to do, Fitz. You should leave." She dismissed.

"Olivia, we aren't finished here." Fitz said, not budging from his seat.

"I think we are." Olivia stood, walking to the door. She opened it and waited for him to leave.

He accepted his defeat, even though he didn't want to end the night with things worse than they started. "Goodnight."

"I'll handle it." Olivia mumbled before she shut the door behind him.

/

 **THE NEXT NIGHT**

"Hey stranger." Abbey held up a bottle of Olivia's favorite wine.

"I saw you four hours ago." Olivia rolled her eyes. "I was just putting Alex down for the night."

"Mind if I say goodnight to the little stinker?"

"Of course."

Abbey sat the wine on the counter and followed Olivia into Alex's bedroom. She bid Alex goodnight, then watched from the doorway as Olivia tucked her in, finishing her nightly routine.

"You know…" Abbey began as she popped the cork out of the bottle. "Most of the time I hate you."

"This better lead to a compliment." Olivia laughed, as she grabbed two glasses from her cupboard.

"But… When you do what you did today, when I see you with Alex like that… I am reminded why I devote so much of my life to you."

Olivia poured their glasses. "Thank you."

"Allow me a moment to praise you, Liv. I mean, seriously." They took a seat on her couch, situating a giant bowl of popcorn between them. "David is now the Attorney General _of the United States_. I don't know how you got Senator Burton and Senator Neilson to agree on a nominee. I think the last thing they agreed on was that Nixon was crooked in the 70s."

"David's freakish lack of moral ambiguity made it easy."

"You really have things figured out." Abbey smiled. "Look back at where you were two years ago."

"A widowed, single mother with a foot in a cast." Olivia joked.

"But look at you now… Sure, it might take twice as much persuasion to convince you to have a damn glass of wine with me, but you are happy. You have found your rhythm with Alex. You have Fitz. You are about to move in with him."

"It isn't all that simple." Olivia said simply. She didn't mean to say it like that, but Abbey picked up on it.

"Is everything not perfect in wonderland?" Abbey's tone was not sarcastic, but rather concerned.

"It's fine." Olivia occupied herself with her wine glass. "Nothing is wrong."

"Do you remember when you used to talk to me?" Abbey said.

"We still talk." Olivia dismissed. "What do you think we are doing now?"

"I remember you telling me about how you felt about Edison's sex game."

"Abbey, _don't_."

"That he was steady and got the job done, well, _most_ of the time. But he was too stable, almost boring."

"I am regretting that conversation so much right now." Olivia blushed. "I was so young."

"The point is that you told me." Abbey refilled their drinks.

Olivia hesitated, raising her fresh glass of wine to her lips. "I think we are both carrying more baggage from our past than we care to admit."

"Like?"

"I asked Mellie to decorate our townhome. I didn't think about how stupid it was—I just wanted someone easy and trustworthy. I also wanted someone who knows Fitz's taste, because honestly I couldn't give a damn about what the apartment looks like. I was doing it for him."

"And he obviously wasn't on board with it." Abbey concluded.

"Of course not. Only, he said he would support it, because he's so fucking focused on making me happy. So we went through with it. Now that she has actually done work for us—and been very professional about it—Fitz is acting so damn prideful in front of her and making the whole situation unworkable."

Abbey reserved judgment, because she knew that Olivia needed to vent. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I've got to figure out how to tell her. I feel terrible, because she has already done work for us. And it makes Fitz seem like a child. I mean, I can't help but wonder at times why he gets so hung up over her."

"They have a history that extends back to high school." Abbey remembered his file from work.

"I know. Yet, they have been co-parenting for years now. I guess I expected it all to work in a vacuum."

"It is never that simple."

"Enough about me…" Olivia pivoted. "Why aren't you and David having earth-shattering-newly-appointed-attorney-general-celebration sex? Why are you here?"

"He's in on a work-based adrenaline high right now. I predict he'll be going back and forth between his new and old offices like a pin ball. I need to wait for him to settle."

"Well, cheers to his new position." Olivia clinked her glass against Abbey's and drank.

Abbey brought her glass to her lips, savoring the wine. "Baggage can't be wished away. It exists whether we want it to or not."

"I don't know what to do." Olivia admitted.

"Don't unpack his baggage, and he won't unpack yours. Carry it together."

"Poetic." Olivia teased lightly.

"Pour me another glass and I will start reciting Shakespeare." Abbey downed the rest of her glass and held it out for a refill.

/

"Good morning, Mellie." Olivia walked into her office.

"Good morning." Mellie greeted her. "Have you decided which theme you like the best? Is Fitz running late?"

"Well, there has been a slight change of plans." Olivia said. Mellie motioned for her to sit, but she stayed in place. "I'm sorry, but we are going to have to use a different decorator."

Mellie asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, your suggestions were beautiful." Olivia assured. "We just want…" She struggled for how to phrase it, without being too vague or specific. "To hold off for now."

"You are a holding off on moving in?" Mellie was confused.

"No, we are still moving in as planned." Olivia's phone rang, and she checked the caller ID. It was Abbey, but she explicitly told her not to call her unless it was an emergency. "You have thirty seconds." Olivia demanded. Abbey filled her in on a case in New York City, where an old client was demanding to only speak with her in person. "Fine, get me a ticket for the first flight. And a return one to be back by dinner." Olivia hung up.

"I get it." Mellie pivoted back to the business at hand. "This is about Fitz and me."

Olivia stood, hooking her purse on her arm. "I'm sorry. Just send me the invoice for your time and work." She turned around and left.

/

"Hey, baby girl!" Olivia gleefully picked up Alex and lifted her in the air. "How your day?"

Alex excitedly babbled in her halfway intelligible English about her day. Olivia tried to keep up, but ended up nodding and smiling in encouragement until she was done.

"Alex do you want to show her what you made?" Fitz handed her a mixed media painting full of Alex's handprints, pipe cleaners, and sequins that vaguely resembles a butterfly.

"Oh, wow." Olivia held the painting against the light from the window. "This is almost as pretty as you."

Alex giggled as Olivia reached for some tape. Balancing Alex on her hip, she taped it to the window, surrounded by photos from David's case. "I will hang it here, until we can take it home and put it on the fridge, okay?"

"When go home?" Alex yawned, meaning to ask when they would go home.

"I still have some work to do. Are you tired?" Olivia asked, earning a nod from Alex. She grabbed her a blanket and set her up to take a nap on her couch. Fitz was waiting to properly greet her in the conference room.

"Hi." She mumbled, falling into his arms.

"Someone is tired." Fitz chuckled, rubbing circles along her back. He kissed her waiting lips.

"It has been a long day." She kissed him again before pulling back and returning to her work. "Thank you for getting Alex for me."

"We had a fun afternoon of grocery shopping and dress up." He smiled. "How was New York?"

"Inconvenient." Olivia began to peel the pictures and data form the wall. "I did talk to Mellie."

"What did you say?" Fitz leaned against the table.

"I told her we were going in a different direction… She understood."

"She understood?" Fitz raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Uh… She understood." Olivia shrugged. "I handled it."

Fitz crossed over to where she was standing, expecting more of an explanation.

"What do you want me to say?" Olivia sighed, turning around to face hime.

"I don't know..."

"It was awkward, uncomfortable. But I handled it."

"I'm sorry that it put you in an uncomfortable position." Fitz stretched his hand across her hip.

"I'm fine." Olivia moved out of his grasp to feed the photos and papers into a shredder in the corner of the room. "I have a list of new designers. I can email it to you. We have to start from scratch, so we need to work fast."

"Olivia…" He sighed in disappointment. He rarely called her by her actual name. It was always either Livvie or Liv, but rarely Olivia.

"What?" She raised her eyebrow, shutting of the shredder to give him her full attention.

"We should have addressed her together."

"Because _that_ would have made it _so much_ less awkward." Olivia rolled her eyes, turning the shredder back on.

"That is not what I meant." He put his hand on her arm.

"I said that I would handle it, and I did. Now, you are unhappy with how I did it?" Olivia asked. "I don't know how to respond here."

"I meant to say that it shouldn't have been completely your responsibility. You should have told me that you were going to do it."

"I don't want to talk about it." Olivia walked into her office. Fitz followed. "And I'm pretty sure that you don't either. So let it go."

"Fine." Fitz accepted.

"I also talked to my landlord. We worked out me extending my lease until we can find another decorator."

"That is not going to happen." Fitz said flatly.

"Excuse me?" Olivia asked. She dropped what she was doing to face him. She was way too tired to have him put up a fight against everything she did.

"I am not letting you postpone this."

"It is just a month or two."

"Then it will be three or four." He argued.

Olivia chose to ignore him, brushing past him to her office. He grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"Hey, wait a minute." He grabbed her arm, pulling her back against him. His arm hooked around the small of her back, even though Olivia was not reciprocating. "I have good news."

"Which is?" Olivia raised her eyebrow.

"I got a promotion at work."

"Wait, what?" Olivia doubled back.

"Cyrus is retiring at the end of the year." Fitz explained. "They asked me after my evaluation. They are thinking ahead so that I can have time to shadow him and adjust to the more administrative duties."

"You have known for this entire week and haven't told me?" She punched his arm. Her excitement for him was boiling over her face.

"We had more important things on our plate." He admitted.

"So you are going to be the head of the entire department?" Olivia asked, in excitement. "I thought he was just promoted a couple of years ago."

"He says that the heart attack he suffered over Christmas has slowed him down too much, but really, I think it is James forcing him to."

"Well, I am very proud of you." Olivia grinned, kissing him repeatedly. "Hold on one second." She left his arms briefly to retrieve his favorite canter of scotch from the cabinet in her office. "How does this affect your hours or schedule?"

"I won't be seeing patients personally anymore. I will be dealing more with governing what everybody else does." Fitz accepted a glass. "No more late nights, or long shifts. I can have a more steady schedule for Alex."

"Is this what you want?" Olivia checked.

"I don't know." Fitz admitted. "I never thought I would be asked to do it, but it is an honor. Doesn't hurt to try."

"Then, cheers to the new obstetrics department head." Olivia clinked her glass against his. She took a sip, but couldn't help from wincing at the burn.

"I know that we have reached a rough patch, lately." Fitz began. He set his glass to the side and took her hands in his and kissing her knuckles.

Olivia knew exactly what he was talking about. She expected moving in to be seamless—a natural movement—but it brought on more stress than she imagined. It felt like lately, they were operating out of habit and obligation, rather than love and passion. She was as tired of it as he was.

"But it is just growing pains."

"Growing pains." Olivia repeated, convincing herself.

"Because that is what happens when two people love each other so much that they agree to merge their seemingly incompatible lives together."

"I love you." Olivia admitted, swaying in his arms.

"That is a relief." Fitz smirked, pulling a swig of his scotch and kissing her forehead. "Because my previous statement would have been mute, otherwise."

/

 **THREE WEEKS LATER**

"You should take a break." Fitz said, noticing Olivia stretching a crick out of her back.

"I'm fine." Olivia said, getting back to work.

"We don't have to finish this today." Fitz countered.

"We kind of do." Olivia replied. "My lease ends next week. Karen is graduating Thursday. That means that I need for everything to be moved in by then. _That means_ that I— no — _we_ need to finish unpacking these boxes."

After they found a new decorator, it was surprising how timely everything else flowed. There fight over Mellie was out of sight and mind, as they both wanted to move on. That didn't mean that their new home was anywhere close to being finished. Their bed would arrive the next day, completing the master bedroom. Alex's room was livable, but everything else was a freshly painted mess that would take weeks longer to complete. Fitz would still split his time between his old house until it was complete. Olivia insisted so, mainly to keep some type of normalcy for Karen during her dwindling time in high school.

"There is no timeline on our moving in and starting our life together." He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her against him.

"Corny." Olivia rolled her eyes, moving out of his grasp to continue stacking their boxes. "Alex needs to be picked up in an hour. We still need to make another trip."

"What is in this box?" Fitz distracted her by lifting the lid of a box of her things. In it, laid a tightly packed collection of files.

" _Confidential_." Olivia intercepted him, putting the lid back on, and pushing it out of his grasp. "Don't think that moving in with me will privy you to any of my work secrets."

"You forget that I couldn't care less about what scandals wife beating senators and coke snorting CEOs get into."

"Hmm." Oliva hummed. "That is a hell of a high ground stance you are taking for someone who has a file in here."

"My file?"

"You were once my client." Olivia reminded. "Along with all of the wife beating CEOs and coke snorting senators."

"I remember you taking my case free of charge. _Pro bono_." Fitz hoisted her up against the counter of their in-progress kitchen. "So I justify that to distinguish me from the moral degenerates you frequent."

Olivia couldn't help but react to the way he man handled her. "You were a client nonetheless. So you are in the system." He snuck his hands into her t shirt, making work of the skin along her ribs.

"Let me see my file." He whispered against her cheek as he sought out her lips.

"Separation of work and home." Olivia moaned between kisses.

"That is bullshit, considering how much your work has intercedes in our home life." Fitz argued, lifting her t shirt over her breasts and kissing the ample skin between her two bra cups.

"Your file is boring." Olivia gasped as he kissed the exposed skin along the line of her bra cup. His arm hooked around her waist, pressing her to his belt. "You aren't as interesting as you think."

"So let me see it." He mumbled, leaning her back across the counter. .

Olivia had a moment of clarity—despite the inhumane reactions he was getting from her. She put her hand to his chest pushing him back. "If I tell you, will you let us finish our work here without any _distractions_?"

"Deal." He smirked, gently pulling her shirt back down.

"Okay…" Olivia sighed, reaching into her box and pulling out his file. "Here we go… Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third."

"You know I hate it when you say _The Third_." Fitz winced.

"Shh." Olivia put her hand up to silence him, beginning to enjoy this. "Born and raised in Santa Barbara. Attended UCLA and graduated with a degree in Biology and a minor in public health in 1996. Attended Harvard's med school in that fall of 1996. Married to Melinda Grant in 1998—the same year his first son, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant _the Fourth_ was born. Fitzgerald Thomas Grant _the Third_ finished his residency at Boston Memorial Hospital in 2000—the same year his second child, Karen Elizabeth Grant was born."

"Enough." Fitz tried to grab the file from her hand, but she was too quick, holding him at arm's length.

"Worked at James Madison since 2003 as an OBGYN. In 2009, divorced from Mellie Grant. Dated four women since, each of which did not last longer than a year. Two years ago, Amanda Tanner accused him of sexual harassment, which is where OPA steps in, saving the day." Olivia grinned.

"Is that where the file stops?"

"Separation of work and home."

"What about the part of us moving in together and me proposing?" Fitz asked, earnestly, rubbing her thighs with his hands.

"Neither of which have fully happened." Olivia reminded.

"Are you sure about that?" Fitz asked, as he slid down to one knee and pulled a ring out of his back pocket. "Will you, Olivia Carolyn Pope Grant _the First_ marry me, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant _the Third_?"

"Yes." Olivia declared quickly.

"Really?"

"Did you expect me to say 'No'?" Olivia teased, kicking his shoulder lightly.

Fitz immediately rose, dropping the ring to the counter and devouring her lips in his. Olivia pulled back briefly, unable to hide her grin, before throwing her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. He couldn't keep his hands still from his excitement, taking their liberties along her sides and back. "Okay then, Mrs. Grant." He mumbled against her breathless lips.

"Mrs. Pope-Grant—nonnegotiable." Olivia pulled back, stubbornly.

"Okay then, Mrs. Pope-Grant." Fitz corrected, sliding the ring on her finger "I am honored."

"This ring is gorgeous." Olivia marveled, rotating her left hand back and forth. It had a vintage set, but with modern diamonds—kind of like their townhome.

"Well, Mellie claimed my mother's ring, but my grandmother gave me this before she died. She got it in France, when she was touring as Miss America."

"A small detail left out of my file." Olivia teased. "I didn't know that you were in the bloodline of pageant royalty."

"It is called _doux bébé_." He smiled, kissing her shoulder.

"Sweet baby?" Olivia asked.

"I had the diamond fitted the day after you said that you would marry me. I was just waiting for the right time." Fitz explained. "I immediately dismissed a grand proposal—you would have hated that. A nice dinner with a prime bottle of wine seemed too predictable. So I kept it in my pocket for a couple of weeks, waiting for when it felt like a right moment. Then I thought, why the hell not right now?"

"I would have said _yes_ no matter how you proposed." Olivia grinned, her forehead against his. "But this is a pretty damn good moment."

"I love you, my future Mrs. Pope-Grant." He began to unbutton her pants.

"Fitz…" Olivia smiled to herself as he began to kiss along her neck. "We are not even close to being done."

"I will only ever propose to you once." Fitz reminded. "And the window for us to have proposal sex is indeed finite."

"On what bed?" Olivia teased, pulling him back. "Alex's?"

Fitz realized that she had a point, but wasn't going to give up yet. "We have a rug in the living room."

"Where there is a will." Olivia submitted as he picked her up off of the counter and carried her to their brand new rug.

/

"You shouldn't be worrying about packing today…" Olivia said, leaning against the door to Karen's room.

"I know." Karen said, arranging books in a box. "But I don't mind. Plus most of this stuff I won't need in college, so it is nice to do some cleaning. Come in, I need your opinion on what to wear tonight."

"What is going on tonight?"

"Just some graduation parties." Karen disappeared into her closet to re-emerge into her first outfit. She was wearing holey jeans with a grey fitted t shirt and a red flannel tied around her waist. "Option A." She pivoted slowly.

"Nice." Olivia approved.

"But wait for option B." Karen went back into her closet, coming out in a completely different look. She was wearing black skinny jeans that rose up to her navel. She had the same t shirt on, but tied it up into a knot, exposing her midriff. She wore a leather jacket over it. Olivia was honestly taken back by how mature she looked. She didn't look like a high schooler. She looked like one of the twenty-somethings downtown, hitting up trendy bars.

"Do you want to hear which outfit I like? Or which outfit your father would want to tell me to tell you to wear?"

"I figured after 7:00 today, I'm that much closer to independence, so I might as well test my limits."

"At least wait until you are out of the door to tie your shirt up. If your father sees you in that, he will worry the entire night." Olivia said. "But I like option B."

"I swear, you and my dad have to marry each other before I go off to New York." Karen changed the subject, moving on to Olivia's left ring finger.

"That's a hell of a deadline." Olivia chuckled. "It will be a small ceremony. But you will be there, no matter what. Planes exist, you know."

"As long as you don't hit up the City Hall without inviting anybody, like my mom did." Karen rolled her eyes. "That was so tacky."

"You will be there." Olivia reaffirmed. "But enough about me, today is your big day." Olivia took a seat on the edge of her bed. "How does it feel to be graduating?"

"About damn time—sorry." Karen apologized for cussing in front of her.

"It's okay." Olivia smiled.

"I mean, high school was fun. I had some good times and what not. I've just felt suffocated there these past few months. But I guess that is what senioritis is called."

"I know that I have only known you for a couple of years, but I am really proud of you. Seeing how great of a person you are told me more about your father than anything else could." Olivia pulled a small box out of her purse and held it out. "So happy graduation."

"You didn't have to do this." Karen said as she tore the wrapping paper, pulling the box out. She opened it to find a simple gold necklace with a black stone as the charm. Olivia knew that Karen had been getting into crystals and meditation lately. "It's a—"

"Hermatite." Karen said. "It deflects stress and negative energy and keeps its owner grounded and centered, especially in new lands."

"I thought you might need that in college." Olivia watched her lift the necklace up to try it on.

"Thank you." Karen hugged her tightly.

"Olivia hugged her back, happy that her gift made her happy. "You should be getting dressed. We leave in fifteen minutes.

"If there is something I won't be late for, it is my own graduation." Karen winked.

"I'll see you downstairs." Olivia left her to change into her dress and her graduation gown.

/

"I'm officially old." Fitz sighed. "And an empty nester."

"You aren't an empty nester until August, and then you will have 16 years until you are an empty nester."

"Then I will have to marry another MILF and then raise her kid."

"Don't ever say _MILF_ again. Only horny boys in college should be allowed to say that." Olivia elbowed him in the ribcage. "I'm going to check on Alex."

"Don't take too long." Fitz intentionally let his hands linger on her ass as she rose from the couch. Alex was still passed out in Fitz's bed. After Olivia gave her a larger piece of Karen's graduation cake than she probably should have, she ran off her sugar high in the back yard with Teddy, Jerry and his girlfriend, who were home for Karen's graduation. Olivia was so grateful that Jerry and Karen insisted on playing with Alex whenever they were around. Especially after a week like hers, where she was frantically running back and forth between her office, old apartment, and new townhome.

"You barely ate any of your cake." Fitz handed her wine glass back to her as she returned to the couch. She tried to resume her place next to him, but he guided her to his lap, making her straddle him.

"I've been feeling kind of nauseous today. It is nothing." Olivia dismissed, taking a sip and setting her wine glass on the coffee table.

"You don't think it's…" Fitz put his hand on her belly.

"Do you think I would be on my second glass of wine tonight if I thought it was?" Olivia rolled her eyes.

"You should take a test, just to be sure."

"You should marry me first." Olivia kissed him slowly, but deeply, sliding her tongue against his.

"Can we talk about it?" Fitz grinned against her lips.

"Karen wants us to get married before she goes off to college."

"She already told me."

"I don't want a big ceremony." Olivia said, kissing along his neck.

"How small?" Fitz pulled her to lay on her back as he settled between her legs.

" _Really_ small." Olivia unbuttoned his shirt effortlessly, sliding it down his arms. . "Like family and my team only."

"Can my brother come?" He had her dress bunched at her hips, not losing the pace of his lips along her neck.

"Of course." Olivia reached for a handful of his hair to try to guide his mouth to hers, but he was already sliding down between her legs. "Fitz…"

"Hm?" He mumbled, beginning to pull her thong down her legs with his thumbs.

"Can we continue this conversation in about fifteen minutes?"

"Fifteen minutes, huh?" Fitz smirked, dropping her thong to the floor

Olivia had a retort on her lips but he connected his mouth to her clit. "Uhhh." She moaned, grabbing a decorative pillow and hugging it to her chest. He pulled her legs over his shoulders, burying his face into the apex of her thighs. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't lay still with him influencing her like that.

" _Fuck_." Olivia arched her back.

"Lay still." Fitz growled, pressing his hand to her stomach, making her stable against the couch.

"You make it really… hard to." Olivia gasped.

Fitz inserted a finger into her, curling it to hit her spot. When he felt her orgasm approach, he brought his soaked fingers to her lips, making her suck her own juices off of his index finger. Fitz found it incredibly sexy how she bit down on his ring finger as she came.

"Get up here." Olivia flipped her legs under his arms and pulled him up to par with her. The shift of weight made him lose his balance and fall from the couch to the floor. Olivia came with him, crashing onto him and the carpeted floor.

"Ouch." He groaned as she landed on top of him.

"Sorry." Olivia laughed, pulling a pillow under his head. She kissed him sloppily, biting along his chin as she grinded deliberately along his belt. His dick was uncomfortably hard as he reached down to undo his belt. Olivia finished the job, pulling back to slide his pants down.

She lined herself up with him, deliberately teasing his tip against herself. His eyes were shut as he cursed under his breath. Her hand mixed her arousal with his as she stroked him along her slit.

"Look at me." She demanded. When his clear blue eyes connected with hers, she began to slowly take him into her, a little more with each stroke. She was driving him crazy and he needed his release. He unexpectedly bucked his hips up, making her gasp and cover her mouth. He gripped her waist in his hands and began to help her keep her pace.

She leaned over to kiss him, pulling his mouth to hers. Her hips were rolling and they were hitting all of their right spots together. Fitz was constantly amazed at how when they made love, she was both rough and sensual. They managed to fuck each other's brains out, while still falling more and more into a romantic space.

When he felt her begin to cum, he let himself go, pulling her hair and synchronizing their pleasure. Olivia fell to his side and he grabbed a blanket from the couch, covering their exposed bodies. They were too physically exhausted to move back to the couch.

"Pick a date." Olivia said.

"July 28th." Fitz repositioned his arm under her head to give her a proper pillow. "That gives us enough time to honeymoon before Karen goes off."

"That's in two months." Olivia said, not masking her concern.

"It's a small ceremony, and Karen is going away in the second week of August, so we have to do it before then."

"You have a point." Olivia nodded. "But we could also wait until December, when everybody is home for Christmas."

"That's eight months away…" Fitz crinkled his nose.

"We've only been engaged for 48 hours." Olivia laughed.

"How about we put an afternoon aside just for wedding planning. We can sort everything out, see if July 28th is too soon. If it doesn't feel right, then we can look at December."

"Okay." Olivia nodded.

"Honestly, the honeymoon will probably take longer to plan." Fitz smirked, sliding a deft hand down her spine to rest on her ass.

"I don't know if I we can do a honeymoon—"

"I know what you are going to say." Fitz brought his hand from her ass to her face, pressing a finger to her lips. "So don't."

"What was I going to say?" She asked, playfully biting his finger.

"A variation of: I can't take off of work, I have a two year old that is something of a cock block. The inevitable work argument, where you claim that OPA would fall apart if you were absent for more than three hours. Or maybe even that nobody honeymoons on their second time around, which is ridiculous. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie probably had a kick ass honeymoon, and they have like seven kids together." Fitz lifted her thigh over his hip.

"They are also separated now." Olivia argued. "But seriously… It isn't practical."

"We will bring Alex's nanny." Fitz kissed her lips, just enough to make her moan in approval. "I wouldn't mind sharing your time with the office. I'm sure whatever private island I drag you to will have wifi and phone service."

"Private island?" Olivia asked, laughing at how he was convincingly kissing along her neck.

"Or Alaska… If you really prefer seeing me in a parka than in swim trunks." Fitz joked. "And for the last one… Just because this is our second marriage, doesn't mean that we can't indulge a little bit." He began to gyrate against her, sensually massaging the skimp flesh along her hip and thigh. "The world won't crumble if you let your hair down for a minute."

"Fitz…" Olivia gasped as he entered. One of his hands was tangled in her hair, guiding her mouth to his. The other was gripping her ass and thigh, keeping his tempo. He brought them to another close, with her clinging to his sweaty chest.

"Well?" He asked, kissing her forehead.

"Where are you taking me?" She smirked.

"To the shower." He grinned, standing up and pulling her with him.

/

Hours later, Olivia was still awake. Alex was sandwiched between Fitz and herself. In Alex's drowsy state when they crawled into bed, she insisted on burrowing between them, sucking her thumb and curling up in a ball. Olivia needed to rid her of that habit before it stuck, but it wasn't worth waking her up. She didn't mind watching her beautiful daughter sleep in the arms of her fiancé. Even though her body was all levels of exhaustion, her mind was not in the space of rest.

She heard a car pull around the side of the house. Karen was supposed to return to Mellie's house, so she listened closely to see who it was. She heard a car door shut and a few indistinguishable words being exchanged. Olivia carefully removed herself from the bed and went to investigate. When she saw who it was, she opened the front door.

"Karen?"

Karen slowly tip toed up the front steps of the house, not noticing her at first. "What are you doing up?" Her voice seemed off. Olivia knew she wasn't drunk, because she had definitely witnessed a drunk Karen before.

"I heard the car. Aren't you supposed to be staying with your mother?" Olivia closed the door behind her, so that Fitz wouldn't be woken up by their conversation traveling through the hallways of the house.

"Yeah, but Dad's house was on the way. I didn't want to make my friend drive all the way over to Annandale." Karen tried to walk past her, but Olivia caught a whiff of her.

"Have you been smoking weed?" Olivia asked, gently stopping her with her hand on her arm.

"Of course not." Karen cast her eyes away. "I mean, some people were at the party, but I for sure wasn't."

"Karen, look at me." Olivia said softly.

Karen reluctantly made eye contact with her.

"Your eyes are blood shot."

"Please don't tell my dad. Weed is more socially acceptable now. He wouldn't understand. It is even legal in D.C. now. And we were safe, I made sure my DD was sober, and—"

"Does your mom know that you are coming here instead of to her?" Olivia asked.

"I texted her and let her know."

"Who supplied the weed?"

"Stephanie's older brother is an accountant for one of the new dispensaries in D.C., so she had the hook up."

"Do you have any on you right now?" Olivia asked, hugging her robe around her tighter. It was pretty brisk for a May night, but she would rather be cold than wake Fitz up to his high daughter.

"Yeah, she gave me a joint." Karen mumbled.

Olivia held her hand out.

"What? No, please don't show it to Dad."

"I'm not going to, unless you hand it over right now." Olivia said sternly. She was never in the position to be strict with Karen, but right now she had to divert a situation that would end with an unnecessary drama.

"Fine." Karen pulled a joint out of her pocket and placed it in her hand.

"Now wait here. _Don't_ come into the house. You smell like a grow house."

Olivia went back into the house and weighed her options. She could tell Fitz about it. No matter how she tried to cushion the news, he would still be angry with Karen. He was an incredible father, but he was also irrationally protective and could overreact when it came to Karen. It would ruin her graduation night over an innocent thing. But if Fitz found out about the weed later, and it traced back to her knowing, then it would be even worse. She looked down at the joint in her hand as she paused outside of his bedroom.

This probably wasn't the smartest decision, but she was following his advice. _The world won't crumble if you let your hair down for a minute._ She quietly changed into clothes and tip toed to Fitz's side of the bed.

"Fitz." She whispered, gently rubbed his shoulder until he woke up.

"Huh?" He said a little too loudly.

"Shh." Olivia hushed for fear of waking Alex up. "I have to go handle something. I will be back by morning."

"Okay." He nodded, not fully conscious to understand anything.

"If you or Alex need anything, please call me." Olivia kissed his cheek.

"We'll be fine." He mumbled, going back to sleep.

Olivia pulled her car around to the front of the house. Karen was sitting on the porch steps. She motioned for her to get in the car.

"Please don't tell me that you are driving me to my mom's." Karen begged, after buckling her seatbelt.

"I'm not." Olivia could tell that she was internally panicking that the worst case—Olivia telling Mellie that her daughter was caught smoking weed—would happen. Olivia drove the car for a couple of minutes in silence. Once they were in D.C., she pulled off of the road and parked under a bridge

"What we are about to do will never _ever_ be shared." Olivia said.

"What?"

"You will not tell Jerry, you will not tell your parents, you will not tell your future roommates, you sure as hell will not tell Alex when she gets older and learns what drugs are." Olivia said sternly. "Swear on it."

"I swear." Karen said cautiously.

"And consider this an extension of your graduation present." Olivia pulled the car off of the road and parked under a bridge.

"I am so confused right now." Karen said as Olivia rolled the windows down. She watched Olivia pull the joint out of her purse along with a matchbox she took from a drawer in the kitchen. "You smoke?"

"Not since law school." Olivia smiled, more to herself. "But I had a serious boyfriend who made me quit, and I never really had the opportunity—or urge to—after."

"I can't see anybody making you quit anything." Karen said as Olivia lit the joint between her fingers, taking a pull.

"You will say that about yourself, one day." Olivia said with her exhale as she took another puff before passing. She felt the calming effects take over system. "You have to be careful with this stuff in New York. Cops are way stricter."

"I rarely smoke." Karen took a drag before passing it back.

"Oh, you will."

There was a beat of silence. "Do you think my dad smoked pot? Like, back in college?"

"I'm sure." Olivia said. "But he never got caught, or else he would have been kicked out of med school."

"I can't even picture it." Karen shuttered. "He seems so old."

They made easy conversation, sharing the joint. Olivia really enjoyed being able to bond with Karen like this. She didn't even feel guilty about it, which should have concerned her, but it didn't.

"Was the house actually on your friend's way home, or did you just not want to go home to your mother?" Olivia asked.

"She gets woken up by the air conditioner cutting on, and has the nose of a hawk." Karen said.

"Is it weird that I'm about to be your step mother?" Olivia asked.

"No." Karen laughed. "Is it weird to you?"

"A little." Olivia admitted. "You are a legal adult. I can't be a step mom to someone who is practically out of the house… It makes me feel old."

"You aren't even thirty yet, you aren't old."

"Exactly." Olivia laughed. She knew she was really high by the fact that she had to focus on not laughing. "This is good shit. There used to be so much bad weed on the market back in the day."

"I hope this isn't weird to ask you about my dad, but when you two first met, did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That you guys were… meant for each other?"

Olivia chuckled. "When I met your father I was on a stretcher and in labor. I was married—or freshly widowed—I don't know the exact timeline. It wasn't exactly love at first sight. I was more concerned with the tiny human trying to push herself out of me."

"When did you know?"

"I don't know…" Olivia trailed off, collecting the memories of their past. "I fought it for a while. It was hard for me, being a single mother with a career and no knowledge of how to raise Alex. As you can see—I don't exactly live a normal life. But he was patient with me. He waited until I was capable of loving him back."

Karen was silent, taking in her words.

"Why? Where is this coming from?"

"What scares me the most about college is the guys…" Karen laughed, more at herself. "Hayden is the only serious boyfriend I have ever had, and obviously that didn't go as I would have wanted it to. Now, I'm an adult and I don't want any mistakes and, I don't know… Regret things."

"You are going to be fine." Olivia patted her hand. "Just keep a clear head."

"Looking back, do you regret any relationships?"

"No." Olivia said after a thought. "I could regret my college boyfriend, because it was a waste of time. I think I hurt him a lot more by staying around longer than I should have. But he taught me a lot about how men work and what my goals are. I really should regret my late husband… For a million reasons I wish we never met… But he gave me Alex. If he never gave me Alex, if he never drove that car through that red light two years ago, then I would have never met your father. Olivia paused, collecting her thoughts. "Just because a relationship doesn't work out, doesn't mean it never should have happened. Hayden was a loser, but you survived and you are better for it. As long as you remain yourself in the relationship. Compromise on anything but yourself and your values, then you will be fine."

"Thanks." Karen said. "I am just so excited to finally be in Manhattan, it is kind of overwhelming."

"You are going to have the time of your life." Olivia said, buckling her seat belt back in. "Let's go get a shower at my place to hide the smell. Then we can head back."


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks for all of the comments. I love it when I get varied responses to my writing. I was conflicted myself on how they would get out of the Mellie ordeal, so it makes me happy to know that y'all were too.**

 **ALSO, just throwing in a trigger warning in for this next chapter. I don't want to give anything away, but there are some things that have to do with reproductive health. It may be a difficult read.**

* * *

 **THREE WEEKS LATER:**

Fitz came home from work to find Olivia and Alex in the kitchen. He heard the music first, blaring loudly through the home system that wasn't there yesterday. He took a moment to appreciate the natural and relaxed state of Olivia. She was swaying her hips softly to the music, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, as she washed grapes in the sink. Alex was sitting on the counter eating them. Alex immediately noticed Fitz but when he motioned for her to stay quiet and not give himself away, she nodded, giggling to herself and going back to selecting her next grape. Fitz creeped up behind her, trying to control his own laughter, threatening to give himself away.

"Boo." He said in a normal tone, inches from her ear.

Olivia acted out of reflex swiveling around and connecting the back of her hand to his jaw. When she recognized who it was, her hand covered her mouth. She immediately reached for the remote, cutting the music off.

"Well good afternoon to you as well." Fitz joked as he rubbed his jaw to alleviate the sting of her hand.

"Oh my god." She gasped. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Fitz chuckled. "I think I learned my lesson."

"You almost gave me a heart attack." She shoved his chest once she was sure that she hadn't seriously injured him the first time. Alex had succumbed to a fit of giggles at the scene that just unfolded before her.

"Now I feel better about your chances on the street if anybody tries to mug you from behind." He moved past her to kiss Alex on the forehead.

"How was your day?" he asked her.

"Good." She smiled, still laughing a little bit.

"Just _good_?" He asked making a face.

She nodded, giggling at his theatrics.

"How about _wonderful_." He challenged.

"Wonful?" She struggled to get the word out in her baby talk.

"Won- _der_ -ful." He said slowly.

"Wondful." She tried it again.

"Close enough." He winked.

"Will you play with me and my dolls?" Alex asked.

"Baby, Fitz just got home from work. He might want to take a nap." Olivia said, trying to save him from what could potentially be hours of make believe Barbie world.

"Nonsense." Fitz protested, picking Alex up from the counter and setting her on the floor. "If you bring them to the living room, I will be there in a second."

Alex raced off to her room as fast as her short legs could allow.

"Come here." Olivia reached to kiss him hello. He could feel her heartbeat still racing so he took his time kissing her. He slid his hand between her neck and her loose curls, cradling her head. He kissed her until she relaxed in his arms. "See?" She raised her eyebrows when he broke the kiss. "That is a much nicer way to say hello to me."

Alex returned to the living room with multiple dolls in tow. "Fitz, come on." She called impatiently.

"I'll be there in a second." He responded, not moving from Olivia. "I see we have a sound system."

"They installed it an hour ago. We were testing it out." Olivia smiled, running her hand up his arm. "You know what that means…"

"That our home is officially complete?"

"That our home is complete." She smiled, toying with his collar.

It was the final puzzle piece to their home—completely furnished, and honestly beautiful. The décor was the perfect mix of their own personalities, while making room for Alex. It was a bit of an adjustment the first week of living together. Their schedules were not synced. Olivia had to get used to Fitz coming and going at odd hours for his job. She already loathed the sound of his work device letting him know that he was needed at odd hours in the morning when he was on call. He hated the sound of her alarm at 5:30 every morning, even when he had the day off.

More than anything, they were learning how to control themselves sleeping in the same bed every night. It was near impossible to resist each other when every night was a sleepover. Yet, after a few mornings of waking up with entirely too little sleep and aching muscles for them to learn their pace.

But it was all worth it when Alex would jump in the bed with them on Sundays. Or when Fitz would come home to Olivia knowing that the space was his as well as hers. Olivia thought that sharing the space would be more difficult—that she would feel like she was losing some of her self—but it was the opposite. She felt like she was evolving in her own space with him.

"You are home early." Fitz noted.

"Alex had a dentist appointment, so I took off early."

"How was that experience?" Fitz chuckled, remembering the last time he went with the both of them to Alex's dentist. She was a screaming, crying ball of terror the entire time.

"Surprisingly better… She remembered the dentist, so that alleviated some of the anxiety."

"Karen is eating dinner with us." Fitz said, popping a grape in his mouth. "But she won't be staying late. She has orientation tomorrow."

"That's right." Olivia nodded. "Are you going with her?"

Fitz shook his head. "We are short staffed right now, so I couldn't take off. Mellie will be driving her up though."

" _Fiiitz_." Alex demanded with even more impatience. Olivia looked over just in time to see her throw a Barbie down in what seemed to be a budding tantrum.

"Do you want to lecture her or me?" Olivia sighed.

"I would rather I stay being the good guy." Fitz grinned.

Olivia rolled her eyes as she went over to reprimand Alex for being so impatient. She went back to washing her produce as Fitz played countless imaginary worlds with Alex.

/

 **THE NEXT MORNING**

"Good morning, love." Fitz kissed her cheek, gently stirring her awake.

"Good morning." Olivia winced into the light of the bedside lamp. She felt terrible. Her stomach was in a knot and her head was reeling. "What time is it?"

"4:15." Fitz said softly, pulling some of her hair out of her face.

"Then why the fuck am I awake?" She asked, wincing at her headache. Something didn't feel right. She tried to roll back over, but something hurt. She was still too asleep to distinguish what part of her body was giving her grief.

"I think Mother Nature paid you a surprise visit." He pulled back the covers gently to reveal a small blood stain on the sheets. He wasn't embarrassed by it. He literally had his doctorate in things like this. Now, especially that they were living together full time, they were at the level where they could share anything with each other.

Olivia looked at the stain in horror. "Fitz, I…"

"It is okay. Go clean yourself up, and I'll throw these sheets in the washer." He began to rise and pull the covers off, but she didn't move to get up. She grabbed the collar of his shirt, frantically.

"Fitz, I don't get my period like this with this birth control." Her eyes were wide. She winced, as a wave of pain coursed through her abdomen, making her body involuntarily curl up. "And I'm feeling a lot of weird pain right now."

Fitz was quickly in action picking her up and carrying her into the bathroom. He set her on the toilet, helping her remove her pajama bottoms.

More waves of pain came, increasing in intensity. She began to hyperventilate, looking down at the blood coming from her. "Fitz, what the fuck is happening?"

"Olivia." He held her face in both of his hands, making her look at him. "Take a deep breath with me… Good. Now, could you describe the pain for me?"

"It, uh… I feel really intense cramps down there, and…" Olivia felt a wave of nausea, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet as well.

Fitz pulled her hair back, wiping some of the sweat off of her forehead. She was way too sweaty, and her face was losing color. "Does it feel like anything that happened when you gave birth to Alex?"

"I don't remember." Olivia admitted. "That was after the car crash, I was… uh, sedated."

Fitz checked her pulse and his shined phone's flashlight in her eyes, checking her pupils. She began to shake in a cold sweat, trembling in his arms.

"Okay." Fitz nodded, grabbing a washcloth and wetting it with warm water in the sink. "We need to get you to the hospital. I am going to wake Alex, do you think that you will be okay while I do that?"

"Yes." Olivia nodded, crossing her arms tightly across her stomach to try to stop the shaking and control the pain.

"Apply pressure with this. I will be right back." He kissed her forehead. A minute later, he returned with clothes for her to wear to the hospital. He helped her into a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants. "Do you think that you can stand?"

"I can walk." Olivia nodded. "I might need your help, but the bleeding has stopped, I think."

Fitz helped her into the car, along with Alex. He noticed the immediate change in her demeanor, when Alex was around. She was still in intense pain, but she managed to not audibly express it. She just sat in the front seat, gripping Fitz's arm with a tight grasp. Fitz answered Alex's sleepy questions about why they were going for a drive so early.

When he got to the hospital, he got her a wheelchair and took her up to his department. He was so familiar with the hospital that he had her process expedited. As the nurses helped her, Fitz saw Dr. Beene walking down the hall.

"Cy." He called, waving him down.

"Fitz, what are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be here for another three hours." Cyrus asked, stopping mid-step. "And why are you in sweatpants?"

"It is for Olivia. She is miscarrying. We discovered the blood thirty minutes ago. She's in room 814."

"Dr. Brockton is on duty right now. He will take care of her."

"Could you?" He asked. "I want someone she knows… Brockton is still new here."

Cyrus's eyes narrowed at Fitz. "You haven't told her yet have you?"

"No…" Fitz admitted. "And I don't know how."

Cyrus noticed how concerned Fitz was. "Fine, I'll be there once the nurses stabilize her."

"Thank you, Cyrus." Fitz nodded, jogging back to her room. The nurse was inserting an IV in her arm. When Fitz entered, her eyes locked with his.

"What did you find out?"

"Cyrus is going to be your doctor." He took her hand in his, taking a seat by her side.

The nurse finished her work. "I will run this down to testing immediately, Dr. Grant. The doctor on duty will be in here any minute."

"Thank you, Sarah." He nodded. "And could you bring a little cot in here for Alex?" He motioned to Alex, who was playing a game on Fitz's phone.

"Of course." The nurse nodded, making her exit.

"What is wrong?" Olivia asked. She knew that he knew what was making this happen. She could see it in his eyes.

Fitz's lips tightened into a thin line. "We need to wait for some tests to come back, and for Cyrus to give his professional opinion."

"Fitz…" Olivia began to tremble. Her eyes were filled with tears too afraid to fall. "What is wrong with me?"

He took her hand and kissed the palm. "Nothing is wrong with you."

"Then I wouldn't be here." She said in a low voice, gripping his hand a little too hard. "Don't lie to me."

"Livvie, I am pretty sure that—"

"Good morning." Dr. Beene interrupted as he came into her room. Fitz kept his hands clasped around Olivia's. "The last time we were in this situation, you almost knocked out three of my nurses." Cyrus pointed to his lower arm in good nature. "Let's hope that doesn't happen again."

"Good morning, Dr. Beene." Olivia smiled politely, but was in no condition to respond lightly.

"I'm sure that you are wanting to know why you are here." He examined her chart, standing at the foot of her bed.

"Yes."

"First, could you answer some questions for me?" He didn't wait for an answer, flipping through her file. "Were you trying to get pregnant?"

"No." Olivia didn't know if she should look to Fitz or the doctor. "I had an IUD inserted two years ago, after I had Alex."

"How frequent and heavy are your periods?"

"I have gotten three to four a year. Very light bleeding."

Dr. Beene nodded, scribbling notes. "I'm afraid that you miscarried."

"Miscarried?" Olivia asked. She tried to sit up straighter, but Fitz gently pushed her back with a look telling her that she should stay in a reclined position. "But I wasn't pregnant."

"Your bloodwork will tell us how far along you were, but I would say that you couldn't have been further than four weeks. Given what you have told the nurse, your symptoms seem more extreme than most miscarriages at this stage of pregnancy. The tests will tell us if there are any complications. We will keep you here until we can get an ultrasound and make sure that all of the fetal material has passed. If you need anything, feel free to call your nurse."

"Thank you, Dr. Beene." Olivia said as he left.

They were left in silence. Olivia was trying to find the words, but she couldn't. Fitz rubbed his hand softly on her knee, at a loss himself. Alex shifted out of her seat and walked over to Olivia's bed.

"Mommy, are you sick?" She asked with wide eyes, exactly like Olivia's.

"No, baby." Olivia shifted in the bed to allow room for her. "Come here."

Fitz helped her onto her the bed, carefully positioning her so that the IV remained in Olivia's arm.

"I just had a little scare, but I am okay now" Olivia kissed her forehead. "What game were you playing?"

"It has a cow, and you ride it." Olivia smiled as Alex explained the game to her. Alex reached for her other hand to show her how to control the fake cow. "You use your other hand to—"

"Be careful I can't move this arm." She said as Alex recoiled, afraid to hurt her. "How about I control this side, and you control that side."

"Okay!" She agreed as they started the rudimentary game over.

Fitz watched them try to win the game together from the sidelines. He wanted to talk to Olivia about what just happened, but he knew it was not the time. He kissed them each on the forehead, and gave them space. "Do you need me to be doing anything?"

"Could you run home for me and get a change of clothes for Alex? I don't want her to miss her day care today. She will be bored out of her mind if she stays here with me." She asked it in a normal voice, as if nothing just happened. She didn't want to scare Alex anymore.

"I already packed one in the car. I can drive her to the day care for you."

"Your shift starts in two hours. I can call Abbey to do it, she lives nearby."

"I doubt that anybody here will object to me coming in an hour late, because I had to drive my fiancé's daughter to day care, because my fiancé is in the hospital."

"I don't want to be a distraction here." Olivia said, not taking her eyes off of the game. Fitz couldn't tell if she was being distant, or trying to be normal in front of Alex. "Abbey will do it."

"Fine." Fitz kissed her hair. "I will go find us some breakfast."

/

"Liv… What the hell happened?" Abbey asked frantically as she found Olivia's room.

" _Language_." Olivia hissed, covering her one good hand over Alex's ear.

"Sorry." Abbey apologized. "But why are you here? And why do you have an IV in your arm?"

"I'm fine. This is all precautionary."

"You didn't answer my question."

Olivia paused. It was difficult for her even to say. "I had a miscarriage."

"Holy _shit._ Sorry—I'm so sorry." Abbey sat at the foot of her bed. "Were you and Fitz even planning?"

"No, it was all a surprise." Olivia said. "But I'm waiting for some tests to come back, and some other technicalities. I should be back at work tomorrow."

"No you shouldn't." Abbey said firmly. "You need your rest… Is there anything I can do?"

"Just take Alex to and from day care for me, please. Her car seat is in the corner." Olivia replied. "And call me with any incoming business at the office."

"Okay, you got it." She rose, patting Olivia's knee. "Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks, Abbey."

/

"How are you feeling?" Fitz popped his head in her room.

"I'm fine. You don't have to check up on me every five minutes. You should be checking on your actual patients."

"This is my lunch break."

Olivia shifted in her bed. "Well now that you are here, can you take this stupid needle out of me?"

"I can't. That is the nurse's responsibility, and right now, I am your fiancé." Fitz sat next to her holding a file out. "But I do have your results."

"What does it say?"

"You were three weeks along." Fitz explained. "The pain that you were feeling were contractions. You had a more violent reaction, because your body was not used to childbirth. You had a C section for Alex, so you went into a little bit of a shock. Therefore, they think that it was a normal miscarriage. You still need an ultra sound to make sure, and to judge the position of your IUD. I've got you scheduled for one at 12:30. Cyrus will prescribe you some supplements and low dosage pain killers to help you get back to normal."

Olivia nodded, taking in the information. She brought her hand to his cheek, stroking it softly. Yet, her eyes couldn't meet his. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, this all is so…" Olivia choked up on her words.

"Hey, hey…" Fitz moved her hand to kiss her palm, holding it against his lips for a prolonged second. "What are you apologizing for? You have nothing to apologize for."

"Will I be able to have a child when we _are_ ready?"

"The odds are in your favor. 80% of women who miscarry go on to have more children." He waited until her eyes finally lifted to his. "The ultrasound will tell us more. But whatever it says, we will be okay."

Olivia scooted to the other edge of the bed, mindful of the IV in her arm. Fitz got the memo, carefully positioning himself next to her. He tried to pull her into his side, but her hooked-up arm kept her from being comfortable.

"Fitz, take this damn tube out of my arm or I swear to God I will do it myself." Olivia moaned, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Your nurse is going to kill me." He said as he put on gloves to remove her IV. After applying the gauze and safely disposing of the IV, he climbed back into her bed.

"What if I can't have any more kids?" Olivia asked softly, after a few moments of quiet.

"Livvie, you don't need to think about that right now." He kissed her hair and tucked her head under his chin.

"But it is a possibility."

"It doesn't change how much I love you." Fitz said, barely above a whisper. "And it sure as hell doesn't change the fact that I am going to marry you in a few months."

Olivia could tell that this was a painful topic for him. She knew how badly he wanted another child with her. She also knew that he would mask his disappointment if bad news came. He loved her with or without a baby of their own, and he would never let her know that he was disappointed in the slightest bit. Yet, she could feel the worry emanating from him.

Even though he was currently in the position to comfort her, she knew that he needed her as well. She linked her fingers in his, kissing his knuckles.

"When does your lunch break end?" Olivia asked.

Fitz checked his watch. "In about five minutes, but I got someone to cover me for your ultrasound." He began to rise. "Speaking of which, I should be calling your nurse to take us there."

"Wait." Olivia grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. "Can we just have one more minute? Together like this?"

Fitz smiled as he settled back into her bed. "Of course, my love."

/

"Now this will feel cool to your skin." The tech said as she applied the clear jelly to Olivia's skin.

Her grip on Fitz's hand tightened as the tech began to search her womb. It was a pit of grey static. Olivia wasn't sure if that was good or bad. She didn't know what she expected to see. There obviously wasn't anything there. But every time she had ever been in this position, with the clear, cool jelly on her stomach and the technician silently pressing the wand to her, it was to get a glimpse at Alex. Every time before, it was a happy experience. Even when she was terrified of the concept of motherhood, the moments were still filled with wonder and amazement.

Now, it was just grey. No heartbeat. No lumpy shapes that the doctor would then distinguish as the head or body. Just static.

"What is that line there?" Olivia gasped at a white line forming across the in the corner of the screen.

"I'm not allowed to analyze the pictures, ma'am. I just take the photos." The tech smiled politely, before putting the wand away and wiping Olivia's stomach off. "The doctor will be in here shortly."

"Fitz…" Olivia's grip on his hand tightened as she sat up and pulled her shirt down. "Tell me what you saw."

"Everything looked normal." He said with a smile. He kissed her cheek, wiping a tear of hers away with his thumb.

"What was that line?" Olivia asked.

"That was your IUD. It is out of place, but in a non-threatening position. We will need to remove it, but that will be painless and simple."

"What about the dark spot that was in the bottom right corner?"

"That was just from the how the wand was hitting the gel." Fitz chuckled.

"So nothing else is wrong?" Olivia asked, feeling relieved.

"Cyrus will be the second opinion, but I think it looks completely normal." He kissed her forehead, rubbing her back in soft circles.

"It is no fun doing this when another doctor is in the room." Dr. Beene entered, with the images in his hand. "I assume Fitz already told you the good news."

"That everything is normal and healthy?"

"Correct. Your body successfully passed all of the material, which was our main concern. This line right here is your IUD." Cyrus pointed to the image they previously saw on the screen. "It has been knocked loose. That probably explains why you had such a nasty reaction this morning. You had one of those conceptions that slipped through the 1% chance. The IUD then irritated the fetus, causing you to miscarry. This is a pretty rare scenario, but not unprecedented. All that is left for you is to get a final pelvic exam to remove the IUD. I promise, it will be less uncomfortable than its installation. But you are free to be discharged. Do you have any questions?"

"Does any of this effect my chances of having a child in the future?" Olivia asked.

"Very little. If this was your fourth or fifth miscarriage from planned pregnancies, then I would be a little more concerned. But this was just a funky case of your IUD malfunctioning. There is a small chance that this will affect your chances down the road, but that chance is so small—a million other things could have the same effect."

"Thank you, Cyrus." Fitz shook his hand.

/

That night, Fitz moved the schedules around at work so that he could leave early. His department was so understanding with him. It was partially because they dealt with issues like this every day. They knew how devastating Olivia's situation could be, and were more than accommodating to help him get home to her. It was also probably because the word had passed around that he would soon be their boss. He carried a new weight around the hospital.

"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked as he came into the bedroom. She was in her pajamas with cartoons on the TV, Alex curled into her side, and a cup of tea in her hand. "You are supposed to work until the morning."

"They let me go home early." Fitz explained. He was happy to see her resting, and not exerting herself with anything. He kissed her on the mouth and held his arms out wide for Alex. "How was your day?"

"Good." Alex giggled, jumping into his arms.

"Just good? That's it?" He swung her around. "You have to do better than good!"

"It was very good?" Alex asked, laughing from him.

"Was it incredible?" Fitz asked.

"In-credle." Alex tried to repeat the new word.

"In- _cred_ -i- _ble_." Fitz said slowly.

"It was incredible!" Alex said in excitement.

"That's more like it." Fitz held her on his hip. "Tell me something new you learned today."

"Umm..." Alex drifted off in thought. "I don't know."

"How high can you count?"

"Twenty." She said, certain of herself. :

"So what comes after twenty?"

Alex shrugged.

"Twenty-one?" Fitz asked, picking her up again and flipping her upside down in his arms.

Alex squealed at the excitement.

"Fitz, don't get her riled up. I was just about to put her down to sleep."

"I'll do it." Fitz lowered her back to the bed and got to her eye level. "Do you think you can count to _thirty_ while we brush our teeth?"

"What is thirty?" Alex asked.

"Let's find out." Fitz turned around to face away from her. "Jump on."

After Alex jumped on his back for a piggy back ride, he carried her to her bathroom. Olivia could hear them emphatically counting as she switched the cartoons to the news. When she figured that Fitz was in the stage of tucking her in, she went to find Alex under her covers, begging Fitz to read her a story.

"Where the Wild Things Are." Fitz winked at Olivia as she took a seat at the foot of her bed, moving some of Alex's stuffed animals out of her way.

"The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind… And another." Fitz read the story to her, indulging in theatrics and making sure that she saw all of the pictures. Olivia couldn't help but smile at how Fitz recreated the roaring and gnashing of the friendly beasts.

"…and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him…" Fitz turned the final page. "And it was still hot."

"Another one!" Alex demanded.

"But then what will I read to you tomorrow night?" Fitz joked. He kissed her forehead and made sure that she was tucked into her bed like a burrito.

"Good night, Mommy." Alex kissed Olivia back as she kissed her goodnight.

"Sweet dreams." Olivia flipped the light off as they left her alone in her bedroom.

Fitz got ready for bed quickly, hoping that Olivia would not go to sleep before he could speak with her. He quickly showered, changing into his pajamas. Olivia left the bedside lamp on his side of the bed on, but she was lying on straight on her back with her eyes were closed. Fitz wondered if that was the most comfortable position, given what her body went through. He quietly entered the bed and turned the lamp off. As he laid there in the dark, he could sense that she was not asleep. They weren't touching, but he could feel her tenseness.

"Livvie?" He barely whispered but received no response. He placed his hand on her stomach. "Talk to me… Please."

"Don't touch me there." Olivia whispered a she pushed his hand away from her.

Fitz recoiled, kicking himself for not thinking about that. "I'm sorry."

Olivia didn't open her eyes. She remained as still as a stone.

"Talk to me." Fitz propped himself on his elbow. "Tell me what you are thinking."

"I know why I miscarried." Olivia whispered.

"What?" Fitz was shocked at her words.

Olivia finally opened her eyes and turned her head to face him. Even though it was pitch dark, they could still _see_ each other. "I need you to stay calm as I tell you what I am about to tell you."

"You are scaring me." Fitz begged. "Just tell me."

"First, I need for you to promise that you won't get mad at anybody else involved in what I am about to tell you. You will not mention it to them, and you will erase any memory of their involvement."

"What are you talking about?" Fitz was getting concerned.

" _Promise_ me."

"I promise." He took her hand and kissed the back of it.

"On Karen's graduation night, she came home smelling like marijuana. Instead of waking you up, I smoked the rest with her."

"You smoked pot with my daughter?" Fitz raised his eyebrow.

"Don't get mad at her." Olivia begged. "I promised her that I would not tell you. I thought it would be our little secret, but now… I guess you have the right to know why I really miscarried. If you have any anger, direct it at me. It was my fault. _God_ , I was so stupid."

"I'm not mad."

"You should be." Olivia said, training her eyes back to the ceiling. "I made a stupid decision that cost us a child."

"I told you that I'm not mad." Fitz insisted.

"If I didn't have a miscarriage this morning, and I just told you this, then I would be physically restraining you from going over to Mellie's to _kill_ Karen. You would be furious with me for not only hiding what happened form you, but also for _enabling your daughter to smoke an illegal substance_. Goddammit, Fitz. Be mad at me."

"No, Livvie. _I'm not mad_ , because A) her graduation was three weeks ago. That means that you would have been only days pregnant at best. If I had to guess, I would say that I probably impregnated you _that night_. If the pot caused you to miscarry, it would have happened right then. It was clearly the IUD that caused it. B) I'm assuming that you had enough sense to cross the D.C. line making it, in fact, legal. C) Even if you did get caught, I can't see any law enforcement officer getting bringing _the_ Olivia Pope into custody for a minor drug offense. And D) I wouldn't even be that mad if I found Karen smoking pot. I used to be the biggest pot head in college, and I trust that she has enough sense to be safe about it. So now do you believe me when I say that I'm not mad at you?"

Olivia couldn't help but laugh. "I _knew_ that you were a pot head when you were younger. I could feel it in my gut."

"Is that so?" Fitz was glad to see her smile.

"Karen doubted me, but my gut is never wrong." Olivia giggled, turning on her side.

Fitz pulled her closer to him. "Did you?"

"Mhmm." Olivia laughed. "In law school. But Edison made me quit, because he thought it would hurt his political career."

"The senator that proposed?" Fitz clarified.

"Yeah, that one."

"It's a good thing you said no to that loser." Fitz teased, teasing her ring finger in his hand.

"Dodged a bullet." Olivia stroked his cheek with that hand. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"That baby was yours too. I'm not the only person in this room affected by it. You don't have to act strong." Olivia prodded. Fitz was silent and still. Olivia wasn't sure if he even knew what to say. She put her hand to his cheek. "It is your turn to talk."

"It hurt." Fitz admitted. "I was scared. You scared me this morning. But I am so happy that you are okay and healthy. You still love me, which will forever be enough for me. It did cross my mind that it could affect your chances of fertility in the future."

"It _could_." Olivia reminded. "We don't know."

"If it did, we can always adopt. There are so many options for us. If it didn't, then we can try when we are _ready_. As long as you are happy and feel safe and don't mind me sleeping in the same bed as you every night, then I am okay."

Olivia kissed him softly, expressing her gratitude in him opening up. "Could you imagine having a child right now? I mean, obviously it would be cute. We have pretty good genes, in my opinion."

"I think Alex is proof of your side of the bargain." Fitz said with a smile.

"I did catch her picking her nose and eating what she found this morning, so I make no promises on the intelligence." Olivia joked.

"We could make a pretty awesome baby together." He said softly. "When the timing is right."

"When the timing is right." Olivia repeated, burrowing into his arms and finding comfort in the smell of his body wash.

* * *

 **I am working a job that pretty much has me on duty 24/6, so (realistically speaking) I probably won't be able to update until the end of the summer. think of it as an intermission, because I will probably return with a time jump.**

 **Please comment below! All thoughts are appreciated.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey y'all I'm back. I'm about 5,000 words into the net chapter, so there shouldn't be as much of a gap. I had to jump forward here for the sake of flow. This is a couple of months later (around August). Enjoy. And don't forget to leave your thoughts and comments in the reviews!**

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Fitz held her a little bit closer, as if there was any more empty space between them that could be erased.

"Relieved…" Olivia hummed, twisting a flower bud in between her fingertips absentmindedly.

"Relieved?" Fitz questioned with a soft chuckle that vibrated against her in the best way.

"Happy…" Olivia continued, ignoring his comment. "Floating… Euphoric."

"Good." Fitz grazed his lips along her temple, "I hope to keep you feeling like this for a long time."

"How are you feeling?" Olivia tilted her head back to offer him a soft look.

"Like I've made the best decision of my life." Fitz reached down to kiss her soft, pink lips. He pulled back, holding her chin in his hand. "By the way, when do I get my present?"

"The more you ask me about it, the less likely I will give it to you." Olivia rolled her eyes, leaning back into his chest.

"I'm not sure if I've told you this yet, but I like the ring choice, Mrs. Pope-Grant." He held his ring up in the faint light from the streetlights and traffic. A recent storm left everything glistening and wet on the outside, but on the inside of the car they were warm and dry. It was just enough to leave them yearning for a sunny beach in their near future.

"I didn't really think I would wear one again." Olivia said, more to herself as she twisted hers around her finger. Fitz took her hand in his and kissed her wedding ring. It was a ring that—not two hours ago—he placed on her hand, surrounded by their closest family and friends. They were now in the back of a cab, on the way to the airport. Alex's nanny would fly the next day with Alex, but Fitz insisted on letting them have one night of a proper honeymoon. That one night would be more of a one-early morning-ish by the time they made it to the island.

Olivia was still wearing what she wore when they said their vows. She felt uncomfortable wearing another wedding dress, so she chose a breezy silk pantsuit with an open back and flowing material. Given the casual nature of their wedding, Fitz wore a suit and tie, but ditched the jacket for most of the evening. He didn't care what they wore, as long as she let him slip the ring on her finger.

"Do you think Alex is going to be okay until tomorrow?" Olivia asked, checking her phone one last time. She had double and triple checked the documents in order for Alex to leave the country with her nanny and without her legal guardian. She partially used that as an excuse to worry about leaving her overnight.

"She is going to be fine." Fitz chuckled. "She probably won't even realize you are gone."

"You are right." Olivia shifted to get more comfortable against him. "It is no different from an overnight work trip."

"Right." Fitz kissed her temple as their car eased into the airport traffic. He enjoyed the quiet atmosphere between them. They were both buzzing for each other, but in a tired comfort. Getting married, it turned out, was exhausting. But the best type of exhausting. The exhaustion that made her content to lay her head on his shoulder in the first class cabin of their international flight, and the exhaustion that let him hold her hand in his across his lap as they dozed. The blue ambient lights from the cabin casting a soft glow on their rings.

/

They landed sometime early in the morning. Olivia expected them to be more tired from their red eye flight south, but they slept like babies on the plane. When the airplane taxied into the terminal, the flight attendant awoke them gently.

"Welcome to Antigua, _Waladli_." She said with a genuine smile.

"Huh?" Fitz rubbed his eyes.

"Waladli is the native name of the island." Olivia chuckled at his disoriented state of mind, waving the flight attendant on. "Didn't you read up on where we were going?"

"All I heard was _tropical island_ and I was down." Fitz joked back.

It was another hour until they reached their place. It was a quiet rented house on the beach. Olivia walked out onto the balcony once they set their bags down. It was far from grand, but it was secluded. Way off to the corner of their vista was the grand casinos and resorts of the tourists, huddled in their comfort and family vacations. But they were a mere speck of yellow light in the periphery.

Fitz took in the décor of the cabin. It had somewhat dated design. The colors were warm and natural. There was local art that hung on the wall. The master bedroom's bed was a grand king size with an elaborate head board that incorporated a mirror above it. The whole place struck him as an actual house a native would live in. Nothing like the insincere resorts up the beach.

Olivia preferred the quiet. She preferred the soft rustling of the palm trees in the breeze and the slight chatter of jungle birds against the waves' hum. Fitz noticed her taking in the view. The sun was far from cutting across the flat sea, but it still threatened its presence with a soft blue murmur creeping up through the inky black.

He tried to creep up behind her, but she could hear him in the stillness. Her body immediately stepped back into him, molding their skin and mixing their budding sweat from the inescapable humidity.

"This is beautiful." Olivia whispered. There was awe in her voice, and Fitz knew there was little that ever awed her.

"You can't even see anything yet."

"I know…" Olivia leaned her head back against his chest, casting her eyes to the stars above them. "It is still beautiful."

Fitz crossed his arms in front of her, kissing the crown of her head. "You must be tired from the flight."

"I'm not…" Olivia said with a slight smile that was noticed even in the dark. "Are you?"

"That plane ride was surprisingly refreshing." Fitz turned her around and backed her against the balcony's rail.

"Is that so?" Olivia laughed out loud as he began to kiss along her neck, making her gasp into his ear.

"I would hate…" Fitz lifted her to sit on the balcony rail, parting her legs and claiming the space between, "… For us to waste our honeymoon night on jetlag."

Olivia wasn't even concerned about keeping up the repartee as she clenched a fistful of his hair and pulled his mouth back to hers. She was about to make love to her husband, and it took on a whole new meaning. She pushed any deeper thoughts out of her head as she focused on kissing him and the way his body was making hers feel.

When he had kissed her until he felt like he was going to explode in anticipation, he picked her up by the waist and carried her into their bedroom. The sheets smelled like coconut and sea water as he pulled them back with one swift motion. She felt like she was floating as he laid her down between the sheets and joined her in the fresh demise of their union.

Once they were nestled against each other with the linen falling around them, eliminating the air between them, they couldn't escape the grins from each other.

"What?" Fitz asked, wondering if the reason why she was smiling every time he kissed her was the same reason he was kissing her.

"Nothing…" Olivia trailed off, playing with the collar of his shirt.

"Nothing?"

" _Nothing_." Olivia insisted. "I'm just happy…"

"Just checking." Fitz wished that he could smile more. He reached to undo the buttons of her jumpsuit. It may have acquired a few wrinkles on the plane ride, but it didn't change the fact that she looked radiant in it. He struggled with the fasten, trying to understand how the complex fabric would come undone.

"Fuck." He muttered, pulling back to try and focus.

"Need help?" Olivia laughed as she sat up, reaching behind her neck and undoing the top portion with a swift motion. She guided his hands to the zipper on her side, loosening the rest.

"Thank you." He pulled the white down her body, leaving her in a white lingerie set that made his dick twitch against her thigh. He was honestly amazed that she wore that the entire time. He took his time appreciating his new _wife_ 's body against the sheets of their honeymoon. He quickly removed his own clothes, while never taking his gaze from her body. He slid his boxers down, letting his ready cock spring forward. He sent a silent, unnoticed, prayer that the way her eyes darkened and her bottom lip pulled back by her teeth never changed when she saw him fully unclothed. He sprang forward, kissing her shoulder, and reaching for her bra clasp—something he would never have trouble with undoing.

"Fitz?" She breathed, high on his touch.

"What?" he asked, pulling her straps down her shoulders and tossing her bra to the side.

"Take it slow tonight." She locked eyes with him. "I want both of us to be present tonight."

"I wouldn't take you any other way." He whispered, with a slight suggestion in his voice. They had the habit of getting caught up in the moment and heat of each other, but he knew tonight was special. It wasn't every day that he married the woman of his dreams.

Tonight was obviously special. In their history of making love, sex, fucking—whatever they felt like calling it—she was comfortable with taking the lead. He was turned on by it—it was sexier than anything he could pull on her. She knew what she wanted, and she would get it, whether she let him believe he was in control or not. But tonight was noticeable different. She let him take the lead. He was so concerned in making this the most memorable night with him wrapped around her that it took him a moment to notice that she was waiting for him to make the next move.

They were hooked into each other's psyche so deep that he realized what she was doing. She wasn't scratching his back, begging for him to move. She wasn't moaning directions into his ear. She was just locked in the simplest eye contact, silently urging him to determine the pace and progress.

He placed open mouthed kisses along her neck and sternum so sweet that she was only concerned with silently praying to a god she wasn't even sure existed. Just any higher power that would make sense of the euphoria he could bring her with just his mouth would be praised tonight. He palmed her breasts hard enough to make her gasp in an absent breath but soft enough to make her feel like she was the most loved woman in the world.

When he began to slide down her body, giving each nipple love, she thought she would cum then. He wished he had two mouths to bring her to a close on each nipple, but he knew he had to take it slow. To drag out each of their pleasures was the only way to spend their first making love as a married couple. He could feel her self-control in the way she began to scratch his back in approval, but reverted to massaging his shoulders sensually with her palms.

"Fitz…" She halfway protested as he moved on to her navel, on a clear path to her damp panties. "I want you to enter me, _now_."

"You told me to go slow…" He smirked at her impatience. "I plan on making you cum many times tonight. You will get it how you want." He bit the upper hem of her lingerie right in the center, pulling it down her eager legs. " _Paciencia_."

Olivia nodded, more to herself. She pulled the pillow better under her head to watch him fully pull the last restraining garment off of her to leave her completely naked. Now they were equally bare. Completely open and in the moment. He backed to the edge of the bed, holding her ankle in her hand. She spread her other leg out, completely displaying her ready pussy for him. It was her way of letting him know that what he saw was his. He kissed her top of her foot, making his slow trail up her leg. It was his way of marking his territory. She was his, and he would be damn sure that she never regretted that decision.

When he reached her thigh, he shifted his kisses to the inside of her thigh, kissing her other thigh just for good measure. She had one hand behind her head, propping her gaze to his. Her other hand interlocked with his as he began to kiss the tender lips of her pussy. He tried to maintain eye contact, knowing how that strengthened her high, but he couldn't help but avert his eyes to the feast he had in front of him. He couldn't help but treat her private lips like they were her mouth, sucking and licking them with great skill. He lightly bit on, pulling it back with a tease, before flattening his tongue against her exposed clit.

"Fuck…" Olivia choked, willing her eyes to stay open and trained on him. She expected him to lose control and pick up the pace, but he kept his resolve, taking his time with her. He brought her close, holding out on her anticipation. His hands were groping form her thigh to her ass, softly squeezing his earlier vows into her. Vows he had every intention of repeating to her throughout the night. He kept her at a borderline frustrating tipping point, until the hairs on the back of her neck were prickling.

"Mrs… Pope… Grant…" He murmured into her clit as she came, breathing something of praise and curses. Her eyes never left his, which was the greatest turn on for him. He waited until her high came to a relative level. His hand was pressed against her stomach, feeling the way her heartbeat rattled through her pulse.

Her hands hooked under his arms, pulling him up to her. "I love you." She breathed, kissing him deeply. He was kissing her differently than he has ever kissed her before. There was new meaning in each union of their lips. He was not kissing his girlfriend. He was not kissing his fiancé. He was kissing his _wife_. The official seal to it was just as frightening as exciting.

He locked his ring clad hand into hers as he lined her hips up with hers. His pulsing cock found her quivering heat as he slowly entered. He almost came on initial contact as his eyes shut in pleasure.

"Don't look away." Olivia begged in a breathy whisper as he forced his eyes to focus on her. She kept her free hand on his cheek, making sure they didn't lose the emotional connection they shared in their gazes. Emotional was a weak word, she decided. It was spiritual. He slowly filled her stroke by stroke, making sure she knew that each thrust was the sealing to their union.

"Olivia Carolyn Pope… I promise…" He murmured, kissing her between words. "That every breath I take… Will be devoted to your everlasting happiness. When you cry, I will catch your tears. When you laugh, I will catch those tears." He wiped a tear sliding sideways down her cheek. "When you lay your burdens down, I will catch them. When you fall, I will catch _you_. When you fly, I will be honored to be the wind beneath your wings. With every breath I take… I will be devoted to your everlasting happiness. In sickness and in health. In fortune and in hardship. Till my dying breath, I will be at your side. This ring…" He squeezed her hand that sported the circle of their love. "Is the symbol of everything I stand for in you… If you will promise to wear it, I will promise to be by your side. Your teammate. Your rock. Your _gladiator_. The man you deserve." He sealed his repeated vows with a kiss to her ring.

"Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third…" Olivia tugged his bottom lip between her teeth, reminding herself to focus on the words she was about to say, because she knew that she meant them more than any words she had ever spoken. "I promise to strive… with every ounce of my being… to be worthy of your love. The unwavering rock of support—the undeniable safety you have provided for me and my, _our_ , family's safety…" Olivia teared up even more at the inclusion of Alex, just like she did during the ceremony earlier. "has already fulfilled every hope of happiness I have dreamed of. You are more than I could ever ask for, and I make it my goal to be the woman you deserve…" She struggled to finish, fighting the building pleasure in her gut. Fitz pulled a damp curl from her forehead, giving her the focus to continue. "It is my honor to accept your ring and return my gratitude with this ring… I, uh… _shit_." She almost lost it, tears of emotion sliding down her face. "I promise to honor you and this union, in sickness and in health… In fortune and hardship… Your teammate. Your rock. Your _gladiator_." She had to focus on breathing and fighting the strong emotions so much that she couldn'thelp but let out a soft chuckle. The fact that she was near her second orgasm was not helping. "I will be the woman you deserve."

Fitz barely let her get the last word out, before he rotated his thumb around her clit, swallowing the period to her vows in his throat. He savored the way she quivered around him and the way her fist fell in and out of clenching his hair as she came in euphoria. He came shortly after, letting his much pent up cum fill her walls. He fought to maintain eye contact, knowing that it meant so much to the both of them to remain connected in every way possible.

When they both came down from their high, neither one wanted to move. They both just remained in position, with himself limp inside of her, and her legs hooked around his waist. Fitz kissed her bottom lip briefly, before rolling to the side, keeping one of her legs hooked over his thigh. The early morning sun was barging through their open curtains. It flooded the room in vibrant gold. The light caught on the straying hairs that stuck up from her head, catching vague hints of red.

"I love you so much." He meant to say, but it came out more like a whisper. He pushed her sweaty curls up and away from her neck, splaying them out onto the pillow behind her.

"I love you more than I can express at times." She choked out, covering her mouth to control her emotions. She was realizing second by second how much what they had was truly right. He kissed the back of her hand, gently pulling it down. She swallowed hard, bowing her head into his chest.

"Tired yet?" He chuckled, kissing her forehead and running his arm up and down her arm.

"Maybe." She smiled.

"So no?"

"Not really." She kissed his chin.

"Whatever you want to do, we can."

"Let me check on Alex, first." Olivia rolled out of the bed, pulling the sheet with her, and leaving the comforter bunched at the feet of Fitz's exposed frame. He wasn't sure if she did it on purpose, but he had a good guess that she did. Once she shot a few texts to her nanny, and got a response, she went over to her luggage. Fitz watched her dig through the outer pocket for a file folder.

"Surely work can wait 24 hours."

"Shut up." She said softly. She pulled an envelope out of a stack of files and carefully checked the contents. She climbed back into the bed, keeping the sheet wrapped just around her. She crossed her legs, next to his chest, leaning across his torso on her elbow. With a tearful smile, she place the envelope on his chest, right under her chin.

"What is this?" He sat up.

"Your wedding present that you were begging me about." She fidgeted with the hem of the sheet. "I just want to let you know that you don't have to accept it. It won't change anything between us wither way. I just think it is time…"

"You aren't giving me divorce papers are you…" He teased, trying to lighten her increasingly anxious mood. "Because we definitely just consummated the hell out of our marriage, and that kind of complicates things."

"Just open it." She rolled her eyes.

He delicately broke the seal, pulling the papers out. It was paper work for… something. He scanned the document rapidly, trying to figure out what it was. There was the District of Columbia seal at the top. It read:

 _In the matter of_ _Alexandria Maya Pope_ _, adoptee_

 _I,__ _, join with my spouse in this petition for adoption_

Tears pricked his eyes as he scrolled down further to where Alex and Olivia's information was documented. One section in particular caught his eye with a box checked.

 _The adoptee's name: □ will not be changed / ■ will be changed to_ _Alexandria Maya Pope-Grant_

He read every word of the paper over and over, making sure not to miss any information. From her birth date and location of birth to the part that documented her paternal father's death and therefore absence from her life.

"Is this for real?"

"Like I said…" Olivia put her hand on his chest. "If you don't want to, I can toss it in the Caribbean Sea, and we can forget I ever asked." She waited for a response from him.

Fitz was struggling to find the right words. He didn't even realize his mouth was open as he looked back from the document to Olivia and back again.

"You can think it through, I mean this is more than symbolic. There are a lot of legal things that will change because of this, like…" Fitz could tell that she was beginning to ramble, but he let her go on for a bit, "like, if I were to die, then you would be her sole guardian. You will have to rewrite any will, or if you haven't yet, you will need to now. I'm not saying that you have to leave anything for her—I will make sure she is well provided for, God forbid—but you will have to acknowledge her in it, regardless of how much you endow. I mean, I can outline all of the legal technicalities later, but we will also have to shift our parenting dynamic. It will have to be 50:50. We haven't even really discussed our parenting techniques yet. Obviously, judging Karen and Jerry, you are a damn good father—which is the main reason why I want you to say yes—but still, we would have to be on the same page, and I know that this is a large responsibility, so I won't accept a definitive _yes_ , yet. Unless the answer is _no_ then, of course I would accept a definitive _no_ , and this would be the end of it. Oh God, I probably should not have asked you this yet. I was planning on waiting until the end of the vacation, but I just got caught up, and you know what…" She took the paper from his hand and folded it back into the envelope. "Forget I asked. Let us just enjoy the vacation, and we can worry about this in D.C."

"Wait…" Fitz grabbed her wrist, taking the paper back.

"Fuck." She cussed, awkwardly mistaking his signs for rejection. "Obviously this doesn't change anything—"

He cut her off by leaning forward and kissing her. She was initially shocked, but molded into the kiss. It was a moment before she pulled back, still confused and wanting a clear answer. Her brow was crinkled as she panted from the kiss.

"Well?" She asked.

"Where do I sign?" He smiled widely.

"Really?"

"Of course." Fitz kissed a tear streaming down her cheek. "It would be an immense honor to be Alex's father. It is an honor that you would even trust me with this."

"Of course I trust you." Olivia laughed nervously. "You are the love of my life. You are her father in everything but paper. It only makes sense."

"I will have my lawyer work on it the second we get back to the States."

"No need." Olivia laughed. "I'm technically a lawyer. You can fill it out right here. Jake is not present in her life, there will be no need for hearings. All we need is a third party notary for when you sign at the bottom. You just have to sign, and we send it in. Once we receive her new birth certificate, it will be official."

"Have you talked to Alex about this?" He asked. "This is for her, and I wouldn't want to sign, unless she wanted me to be her father."

"She's not even three yet." Olivia rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious." Fitz said, seriously. "As much as I want to be her father, it is her decision as much as mine."

"She is constantly asking me why she can't call you _daddy_. Believe me, she's on board. I think she was on board before we were."

"Turn around." Fitz demanded as he reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a pen. Olivia complied and he pressed the document to her bare back, filling out everything that didn't require a notary. When he finished, he set the document on the bedside table and hugged her from behind, kissing her shoulder. "That is as much as a commitment as I can write without a notary being in this bed with us. Do you believe me when I say that I want to be Alex's father."

"Yes." Olivia wiped a tear from her eye, still facing away from him.

"You really do make me the happiest man in the world."

Olivia turned in his arms, kissing him deeply. She felt like she could never communicate how much she loved him. Her tongue dueled against his, until they were both gasping for air.

"Are you tired yet?" He laughed at their already screwed sleep schedule. The sun was still early in its ascension, but it was ruthless, filling the room like a spotlight.

"Not really…" Olivia smiled, drumming her fingertips against his cheek. Without any further words, she rose from the bed, leaving the sheet behind. He stared in confusion and slight lust at her naked form as she went to the linen closet and grabbed multiple blankets and a pillow. She tossed one over his lap. "Follow me."

He followed her out to the short path leading to the beach. She laid the biggest blanket down on the sand and positioned the pillow on it. She laid down on it, careful to keep a blanket around her body. He was immensely turned on by the fact that the only thing protecting her from exposing herself was a fleece blanket held with one hand bunching the material at her chest. She didn't have to even ask him to join her. He was immediately by her side. They settled under the pile of blankets, beating off the chill of dawn. Fitz spooned Olivia, facing the ocean.

They both just laid in silence for a bit, processing the last twenty four hours. They were bound by not just love but legality as well. It was official and on paper. Olivia ran through all of the ways she saw them adjusting to marriage, the unforeseen challenges that lay ahead. She imagined scenarios and how they would overcome everything together. Fitz fantasized about how Olivia would look when they got old, and how Alex would defy them and make their hearts swell in pride.

"Would you ever consider moving to the beach?" Olivia shifted so that she was lying on her back.

"Huh?"

"Like retiring and dropping everything in D.C. Finding a private island somewhere with a small cabin to shack up in…" She reached up to stroke his cheek with her hand. "Waking up to this every day."

"The quiet would drive you crazy." He kissed her nose.

"Perhaps." She admitted. "I guess we will have to take yearly vacations like a real tamed married couple."

"Disneyworld?" He joked.

"I was thinking more of the Grand Canyon…" She pushed him back, rolling on top of him. She clasped her hands on his chest, resting her chin on them. "Some boring, middle-America national park that our kids actually hate, but we pretend that they want to see."

" _Kids_." He picked up on her plural choice.

"Yellowstone." She winked.

"I can't see how _this_ …" he ran his hands through her hair, pulling it down her back, "will ever get boring."

"But it did with Mellie." Olivia said.

She immediately stopped breathing the second she said it. She didn't mean to say it like that. It wasn't even her insecurities about Mellie coming out. It was just that she always kept in mind that this wasn't either of their first times around the block. There was no escaping the fact that it was their second marriage, each. They could not ignore their baggage and act like this was their first time.

"Go ahead." He whispered, thumbing her cheek. He knew that she didn't mean to say it like that. He also knew that she wanted to say something, even if it caught him off guard. "Ask me."

"Did it feel the same?" Olivia asked in hesitation.

"No…" He said after a moment of hesitation. "I loved her back then, I can't deny that. But what I knew as love then is different than what I know love is to be today. I look back and see mistakes and naivety. I look at this and see perfection."

"Which is also deceptive." Olivia admitted. "This is literally the _honeymoon_ stage."

"I am trying to be aware of that." He kissed her, smiling against her lips. "But it is really hard." He couldn't pull his eyes from hers, searching her eyes. "What about Jake."

Olivia knew he was going to ask her. She tried to prepare an answer, but her words got struck in her throat.

"It is okay." He rubbed her shoulder. "You don't have to answer that."

"You have a right to an answer." Olivia sighed, taking a deep breath. "The more I think about it, the less I think I loved him."

"Hindsight is 20/20."

"Not even that." Olivia corrected. "I _thought_ I loved him back before I knew everything, but I didn't realize that love was _this_." She half-choked up, half-laughed at herself. "It sounds so fucking corny, but… I felt safe with him. We were comfortable. We were best friends. But we didn't have _this_ connection. I don't know… It's weird..." She trailed off, but he rubbed her shoulder, encouraging her to continue. "I didn't realize that love could be this _all encompassing_. I can't go an hour without thinking of you. You posses me like he never did. He was just... _there_. You are _everywhere."_

"I understand." Fitz nodded. He was internally relieved that she said that. No matter how much she opened up about Jake, he was always cautious about the subject. It was such a conundrum he couldn't even wrap his mind around it. But it brought him a joy that he had something Jake never had. He felt guilty for competing with a dead spy, but he was so fiercely competitive for Olivia's heart and safety. He was so protective of her, even though Jake couldn't harm her anymore. He didn't want Jake to touch her even posthumously.

Olivia shuddered in his arms, despite the blanket wrapped around her body. They didn't even notice for the longest time that they were laying butt ass naked with nothing but blankets on the beach for the longest while. The air was balmy and thick, but the ocean breeze was moving air swiftly around them.

"Let's go inside." Olivia got up after a couple of hours, keeping the blanket around her tightly. She didn't mean to, but her movements left Fitz completely exposed. The beach was private. It would take a very skilled person with a million dollar camera lens on the far and of the cape to capture them. Nobody was interested in them, even if Olivia hadn't registered the rental under a pseudonym.

Fitz just laid there shamelessly absorbing her gaze. Olivia realized she was staring, and that he was staring at her. She rolled her eyes grabbing a spare blanket and tossing it over him.

"I think we could both use a shower." She muttered, not realizing that that suggestion turned him on even more. He was quickly up and grabbing her wrist, leading her at a jolting pace to the shower in their cottage.

/

Olivia was very relieved to see Alex again. Even though she tried, she couldn't stop worrying about how she was handling the time away from her. According to her nanny, she was perfectly fine, until night came. Then, she had trouble sleeping and cried for Olivia. But now, everything was okay.

Alex passed out early and had been knocked out for hours. Even though Olivia and Fitz had spent their second night in paradise exhausting themselves out on each other—mindful of the nanny now sharing their cottage—Olivia couldn't sleep. It wasn't a bad kind of insomnia. She was just trying to sort out all of the millions of things running through her mind. She got up from bed and fixed herself a cup of tea. She scrolled through her messages, scanning for any important work matters.

From the kitchen, she heard Alex moving around in her room. She assumed that she was having a hard time sleeping in a new room. It took her a full month to get used to her new room in their new townhome. She wasn't surprised to find her in a wet pair of nighttime pampers.

When Alex saw Olivia, she started to get upset, embarrassed that she wet the bed. Olivia noticed that Alex was becoming increasingly self-aware as a tiny human, and tried to act older than her two and a half age. Sometimes she took it too far, and Olivia wondered if she was showing early signs of anxiety.

"Hey, it is okay, Alex." Olivia cooed as she scooped her up. "Let's go get you cleaned up."

"I didn't mean to." Her bottom lip quivered, much like Olivia's did at times. "I tried not to go pee pee."

"I'm not mad." Olivia kissed her forehead, carrying her to the bathroom. She passed her nanny, who was leaving her room to see what the commotion was.

"I can take care of this, Ms. Pope—I'm sorry, Mrs. Pope-Grant." She corrected herself at her boss's new name change.

"I don't mind. I was already up. You can go back to sleep."

"Thank you." She nodded as she went back to sleep.

Olivia took Alex to the bathroom, where she cleaned her up. Alex was still distraught, on the verge of crying. She tried to keep it in, but was failing.

"Alex, baby, look at me." Olivia held her face in her hands. "I'm not mad. Take a deep breath. I know that you are trying your best."

"I tried really hard to hold it."

"I know you did. It will just take time to get it, Okay?" Olivia kissed her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you." She repeated with a smile.

"Do you want to sleep with me and Fitz tonight?" Olivia had to stop herself from saying _daddy_. Even though Fitz and Olivia had spent time discussing how they would transition, Olivia had yet to explain the concept to Alex. Them getting married alone was probably a lot to wrap her mind around. She wanted to tell her with Fitz.

"Yes." She nodded, wrapping her arms around Olivia's neck so that she could carry her to the bedroom. Fitz was still naked under the covers, so she slipped him a pair of boxers.

"Huh?" He mumbled as he woke up.

"We have company." She whispered, kissing his cheek.

Fitz saw Alex in her arms and discreetly pulled his boxers on under the covers. It was small moments like that that made Olivia sure that Fitz was an amazing father. He knew right then that there would be no morning sex or nude spooning that night, but he had no problem with making room for Alex in their bed.

Olivia could feel the pressure from Alex's chest release as she nestled between them. This was her family and she was damn content with it.

/

Olivia woke up to the sound of Fitz in the shower. Alex was still asleep, passed out in a wild array of curls. She heard her nanny moving around in the kitchen. She quietly rose, pulling her own bed head into a ponytail. She found the nanny in the kitchen, cutting up three plates of fruit.

"Good morning." Olivia smiled.

"Good morning."

"You don't have to make our breakfast." Olivia went to the fridge to pour a glass of orange juice. She tried to make it clear that her job description was only to care for Alex. It made her feel awkward to have someone wait to her. Olivia felt even more awkward that they were probably going to let her go soon. One conversation she had with Fitz was that with his new position starting in the winter at the hospital made it easy for him to take care of Alex when Olivia was still caught up at work. A nanny was necessary for when Olivia was living by herself, but now it felt like overcrowding.

"I don't mind." She smiled politely. "I already had the fruit out, and you can't let it go to waste."

"Thank you. You can actually take the morning off. Go enjoy the beach." Olivia accepted the plates and took them back to her bedroom.

"Thank you, Mrs. Pope-Grant." She said, getting her official name right.

" _Olivia_ , please." She corrected, knowing that no matter how many times she corrected her, she would always use her formal name.

"Olivia, my bad."

When Olivia made it back to her bedroom, Fitz was out of the shower with a towel hanging around his hips. He was searching his clothes hanging up for what to wear. Olivia set the tray at the foot of the bed, out of Alex's way, and approached him from behind.

"Good morning." She whispered, kissing his back.

"Good morning." He moaned at how her hands trailed along the hem of his towel.

"You didn't give me time to join you in the shower this morning." She outlined his abs, feeling his chuckle against her fingertips.

"You were up in the middle of the night." He delicately averted her hands from where their wayward path south. He turned in her arms and pinned her against the wall next to the closet, holding her wrists out, so she couldn't further her damage on him. "You needed your sleep."

"Well now I'm well-rested." Olivia smirked. She could feel his budding erection against her stomach and was only halfway conscious of her sleeping daughter twenty feet away.

"We can't." Fitz sighed, dropping her hands to her side and taking a half step back.

"We could." Olivia filled the space between them again, threatening to loosen the towel around his waist. She loved teasing him now, knowing that he would get her back later.

"I need you to say something incredibly unsexy right now." Fitz moaned. He couldn't help but bring his lips down to graze her cheek. When her body was that close to his, he lost a concerning amount of his self-control.

"Alex wet the bed last night."

"Yep, that works." He chuckled, reaching past her for a shirt and pair of pants from the closet.

Olivia waited until he was dressed before gravitating back towards him. She ran a hand through his hair. "I thought we could tell Alex about the adoption papers once she woke up."

"Well then can we wake her up?" He grinned, leading her back to the bed where Alex was still sleeping.

Olivia woke her up, letting them eat their breakfast together, before she told her. Alex was a bundle of energy, wanting to go to the beach. Olivia agreed, knowing that if they told her now, she wouldn't retain any of it in her one-track mind. She let her exhaust herself in the sun and sand, until she retired to the shade of their umbrella.

"Alex, do you remember the other day, when you were asking me why Fitz wasn't your daddy?" Olivia asked cautiously. Alex had her head in Olivia's lap, and Olivia was gently brushing sand out of her hair.

"Mhmm." She nodded.

"Do you remember what I said?" Olivia asked, testing her memory development.

"That my daddy isn't here anymore." Alex yawned, reaching up to play with the fringes on Olivia's cover up. "So Fitz can't be my daddy."

Olivia faltered for a moment, not knowing how to choose her words. Fitz leaned over and kissed her shoulder, casually giving her support. "Now that Fitz and mommy are married, he can be your daddy."

"Married?" Alex asked in confusion, even though Olivia had explained the concept many times.

"Yes, married." Olivia held up her ring for her to see. Her pudgy fingers toyed with her engagement ring and new wedding ring. "It means that we make a promise to love each other forever."

"Can I marry you because I love you?" She asked.

"I'm your mommy. We don't need to get married to love each other forever."

"Can I marry Fitz?" Alex giggled.

"No, silly." Olivia laughed. "It doesn't work that way. Marriage is only for adults. But you can start calling him daddy."

"Really?" Alex sat up, excited.

"Yeah." Olivia smiled at how she waddled in the sand over to Fitz. "Now that we are married, he is your father."

Alex's face lit up as she looked back and forth between Fitz and Olivia. "I can call him _daddy_?"

"You can call him daddy." Olivia laughed, in part as an effort to stop the tears springing to her eyes. Alex sprung into their arms, hugging their necks with each arm. "Do you want to try it out?"

"Hi, _daddy_." Alex beamed. "I love you _daddy_."

"I love you too, sweet girl." Fitz kissed her pudgy cheek, pulling her back into his arms. The look in his eyes let Olivia know that it was the best wedding gift she could have ever given him.

/

They spent the next few days blissfully exploring the island and beach together. Some days they spent as a family, with all three of them, but other days the nanny didn't mind taking care of Alex as Olivia and Fitz utilized their much needed newly-wed time. Eventually, the real world caught up to Olivia, and she needed some time to catch up on business back in D.C.

He used all of his self-control not to interrupt her in the shower, when she left her work. Joining her would only lead to hours of shower and bed sex, and he wanted to let her have time to work. He showered after, brushing his teeth and pulling on his pajama pants. When he left the bathroom, he found her back to work on her laptop with her chin in her hand, so engrossed that she barely noticed him kiss her shoulder.

"Should I be worried?" He chuckled at the image of the handsome man on her screen. He had a politician's demeanor, but there was something warm about him. He was undoubtedly attractive with distinct Hispanic roots. He seemed young, yet old enough to seem seasoned.

Olivia hummed something of a response out, but she was still captured by the screen. Her eyes were scanning the text on the webpage at a mile a minute.

"Maybe I should be worried." Fitz joked as he laid on his side next to her.

"What?" Olivia asked, snapping out of her zone.

"Who is this guy?" He asked casually, reading the page as well.

"Just a potential client." Olivia said, pulling out her phone to text her team back.

"A congressman?" Fitz noted the official seal on his website.

"Governor." Olivia said. "Of North Carolina."

"You never answered my question…" Fitz smirked as he initiated his plot to distract her.

"What question?" Olivia played along, letting him pull her down to his level. She let him steal a languid kiss from her.

"Should I be worried?"

"You should at least finish the honeymoon before getting jealous…" She teased, sitting up to stow her laptop away. "Besides, the election season doesn't even start until January."

"Election?" Fitz stopped at her words.

"I'm going to make him the next President." She smirked as if it was no big deal. She planned on dropping the conversation later, swinging her leg over to straddle him.

"President?" Fitz asked, sitting up. His hands wandered her ass, pulling her pajama dress up.

"I've done it before." Olivia joked, kissing his chest. She grinded softly into his lap, making him moan softly and grip her waist tighter. It was her turn to distract him as she teased him in all of the right ways.

"I…" Fitz groaned, gripping her hair from the nape of her neck and pulling her back so that he could kiss her neck. "…wasn't doubting your abilities."

"Then what?" She pulled her pajama dress over her shoulders in one swift motion, leaving her in just a silky thong.

"I, uh…" Fitz's mouth hung open at the sight of her breasts waiting for him, slightly rising with deep breaths. "I honestly can't remember." He winked, throwing her onto her back and making her squeal.

"I love it when you get distracted." Olivia breathed, guiding his open mouth to hers.

Fitz smirked, moving down to the breasts that had him speechless a second ago. Her legs curled around his hips as she felt his mouth close around her nipple.

"Shit – fucking shit." Olivia hit her open palm against the mattress.

"I love it when you cuss like that." He mumbled, his lips never fully leaving her flesh. He was being rougher than usual, toying with her line of pleasure and pain. He knew when to stop, but he wanted to see how much she could handle. By the depth of her fingernails in his back, he assumed that she was enjoying herself.

She tried to regain control by pulling him back up to be level with her. Fitz let her suck his bottom lip between her teeth, before pulling back and flipping her over onto her stomach. He pulled her thong down to her knees before ripping it off.

"That's not nice." Olivia gasped against the pillow.

Fitz hooked his arm under her lower stomach, pulling her up to support herself on her knees. The sight of her ass raised and her back slowly arching as she walked herself up with her arms was enough for his dick to twitch in his hands. He lowered his pajama bottoms, palming her ass roughly with one hand.

When he teased her entrance she shuddered. He loved he control he had over her. "I'm going to need to hear your voice tonight." He teased.

"You know I can't speak when you take me like this." She moaned.

He leaned over, still not entering. His mouth grazed her shoulder. His voice was low and gruff. "But I know how loud you can get."

Whatever words Olivia was about to say were cut off with a gasp, as he entered, filling her completely. She braced herself against the bed as he pounded into her. She couldn't help the animalistic noises he was eliciting from her every time he pushed her walls. She drug a pillow to her face, muffling herself.

But Fitz didn't want that. He grabbed her hair, pulling her head back. "I need to hear you, Livvie."

"Fu—ck." Olivia sputtered. She was already so close. It was remarkable to her how quickly he could get her to a high. He was kissing her spine, making her nipples harden in pleasure. One of his hands was interlocked with hers, in front of them on the bed and the other was hooked around to her clit, teasing and tugging in a pattern likened to his stroke. Her mind couldn't grasp how he was everywhere at once, targeting all of her weaknesses.

She could sense the signs that he was approaching. His breath was getting shorter and more frantic. He was grunting in her ear. She tried to hold out so that they could come together, but her arms gave out and she nearly blacked out at the waves of pleasure he brought her.

He slid back to sit on his feet and pulled her back to sit on him, supporting most of her weight. "I need you to ride me like this." He growled in her ear, biting her shoulder.

Olivia thought the positioning was awkward as she grinded up and down, letting him fill her as much as possible before rising again. One of his hands never left her pleasure spot while the other looped under her arm and reached up to grab her throat. When Olivia glanced up at the mirror hanging above the bed, she understood why he was fucking her like this.

He was watching her in the mirror. His eyes dark, never leaving hers as he bit her shoulder harshly and then soothed her skin with his lips. She struggled to keep her eyes open. His hand firm around her throat was making it intensely difficult to rationalize any of her body's reaction. Fitz was determined make her cum twice as he bucked his hips up unexpectedly, causing her to yelp in shock.

"What is your name?" Fitz growled in her ear, knowing that the last thing she wanted to do was speak coherent words.

"I…" Olivia struggled, her eyes closing and her head falling back against him.

"I need you to look at me, Livvie." He murmured, waiting until her eyes connected with his in the mirror. "What is your name?"

"Olivia."

"Say your full name."

"Olivia Carolyn Pope-Grant." She managed, giving in with a gasp as he groped her breast and sucked her neck.

Her saying his name at the end of hers was his undoing. He pulled her down hard into his lap as he spilled into her. When they both finished, they slid out of the uncomfortable position. Fitz kissed her forehead before pulling his pajama pants back up and pulling her into a spooning position. Olivia reached for her pajama nightie, but he wanted to feel her naked body against his.

"You don't need that." He chuckled, tossing it across the room and tucking the covers tighter around her.

"You are such a jerk." Olivia chided, but her tone showed that she didn't mind.

"Says the woman who agreed to spend the rest of her life with me."

They laid there in silence for a while. Olivia knew why she couldn't sleep. Her mind was racing with possible strategies for a political campaign. She was running through endless ad campaigns and speeches. Imagining high school auditoriums filled and Veteran's Day bar-b-ques full of good and ripe press. But that didn't explain why Fitz was still awake.

His breathing wasn't deep like it was when he slept. He seemed tense, like he didn't want her to move, lest she know that he was still awake.

"I can hear you thinking." Olivia massaged his bicep. "Stop thinking so loud."

"You just wore me out past thinking." He chuckled, hugging her tighter to make up for her criticism.

"Come on…" Olivia challenged past his veiled dodge. "I'm your wife now. I know better."

"I like it when you say wife." He whispered in her ear, kissing it like a period to his statement.

Olivia nodded slightly, but didn't comment. He knew that she was awaiting an explanation, but he wasn't sure if she would press him further. He laid there in silence until she finally turned in his arms. "What is it?"

"What does running a presidential campaign mean?"

"What does it mean?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Like, how long will it last… will you be traveling… The hours you will be working… You know, stuff like that…"

"Well, I've told you about when I worked on the current president's campaign. I'll likely be on the road for one and a half years. Of course, from here until about June will just be research and focus groups, but once we announce, it will be hard hitting primaries for a year, then _hopefully_ a large scale campaign." She sighed, relaxing in his arms. "It will be great to be back in the ring again."

"You are in the ring." He kissed her temple. "You fucking own the ring—you are possibly the most powerful person in DC."

"You know what I mean…" Olivia said.

"Alex would be turning five around his inauguration."

"Don't say it like that." Olivia smiled, knowing that his tone was leading to a rocky place.

"Like what?"

"Like you don't want me to do this."

"I never said that." Fitz said quickly.

"I didn't say that you said it." Olivia corrected. "But you don't."

Fitz sighed deeply, not defending himself.

"Then tell me you want me to go for this."

Fitz propped his head up with his hand. "I'm not going to tell you not to go for it."

"But you don't want me to." She challenged, pushing past his complacent attitude.

He ran his hand across her stomach, squeezing her side. "I just hate waking up without you."

"Nothing's decided yet." Olivia sighed at the sincerity of his concern. She brushed the back of her fingers against his cheek. "It is all hypothetical right now."

Fitz nodded, kissing her softly before pulling her back into their spooning position. "I love you."

"Ditto." Olivia smiled, hugging his arms closer.


	17. Chapter 17

"Look at you all fresh faced and relaxed." Abbey took a sip from her coffee mug.

"It feels good to be back." Olivia said, and she meant it. Her week in paradise with Fitz was nice, but she missed her office. She didn't like the feeling of disconnect that she felt in the Caribbean. "Sorry I'm late. I had to take care of some paperwork with Fitz this morning. Get everybody in here right now. I want a recap of everything this past week, and a progress report on all of our ongoing cases."

Abbey nodded, rising to go rally the others.

"Okay, team. Where are we?" Olivia positioned herself at the head of the table as everybody took their seats.

"Nice tan." Marcus joked.

"Nice glow." Quinn tried to hide her smile.

"Fuck off." Olivia rolled her eyes in good nature. "Now could someone please give me some report on what happened in the last week? Or else I just might fire you all for sitting around with your dicks in your hand and wasting my electric bill."

"You would shrivel up and die without us." Marcus slid a file across the table. "The Nelson case. I convinced the police not to press charges under the Good Samaritan clause. He was on campus property. Therefore the university rent-a-cops were a whole lot easier to talk down. Once Lil' Frankie completes a 6 hour online course via the university's Narcotics 101 course, he can continue snorting coke in the dorms like all of his other rich ass fuck ups. Meanwhile, a $9,000 thank you card was deposited into the account two days ago."

"Good work." Alivia nodded, skimming the file. "What else?"

"Gimlick & Hauser wanted a refund for their billing." Quinn handed a file over. "I told them that we don't do refunds, they resisted. So I laid out how much better their sales were doing after we got that wacky YouTube truther taken down for slander, but also low key spilling the truth about their pharmaceuticals. They reconsidered. And added a bonus."

"$24,000. Good work."

"Hey, when will I get the bigger clients?" Marcus protested. "I'm out here busting my balls with GED earning, Taser toting assholes, and she just has to flash some pie charts for almost three times the money."

"When you stop using words like 'taser toting assholes' in the office." Olivia winked, knowing that she would rotate the next heavy spender into his lap.

"Says the woman just said, 'fuck off' five minutes ago." Abbey joked.

Olivia held her hand out. "Where are your files?"

"Already on your desk."

"Everybody get back to work. We'll meet up after lunch."

"Someone can take my coffee. I got my teeth cleaned yesterday." Marcus said, leaving.

Abbey reached for the last coffee.

"Hey, that's mine." Olivia swatted at her hand.

"Are you still recovering?" Abbey teased. "Too many tequila and limes in the _Caribbean?_ Too many _Sex on the Beach_ es?"

"Man, I can't wait until you have your honeymoon." Olivia rolled her eyes. She left the final coffee for Abbey and started towards her office. "What the fuck are those?"

"Wedding gifts." Abbey winked, swooping in on the coffee and making her way towards her office. "I have a lot of work to do, but are you available at four? I have something to talk to you about."

"Personal? Or business?"

"Business."

"I'll be in my office."

Olivia went to sit in her office, ignoring the pile of wedding presents waiting on her couch. There was no doubt wines worth thousands of dollars beneath the white and gold tissue paper. Her reputation as an expensive wine enthusiast preceded her, and with as many clients of the 1% as she had, they no doubt sent their regards.

She flipped through the papers left on her desk. Underneath a billing statement for an easy case that was wrapped up over her honeymoon was the case file for the Governor of North Carolina. _Daniel Salas._ Even though she told Abbey to table the file, she probably forgot to take it from her desk. More likely, she probably snuck it in there with hopes of Olivia reconsidering.

Enamored with his case, she scanned the details. He was raised by a single, immigrant mother in Raleigh, attending Duke and Princeton to earn a law degree. He had a humble start, focusing on community organizing and education in the state. His rise to Governor happened when after his mother died in a car accident by a drunk driver with a history of DUIs. He unintentionally became the main push behind stricter drinking and driving policy—something both red and blue voters could get behind. He was nominated to a position in the North Carolina state capital, then slid easily into the governor's position. A two term governor, he kept a pretty low profile, working almost exclusively on in-state issues. He succeeded as a mediator of a diverse swing state, but failed to garner any national buzz. The fact that he was a person of color in Southern state with overwhelmingly good poll numbers said a lot about his potential.

Olivia sighed, putting his file in her drawer. She would have bet money that this particular file was what Abbey wanted to talk to her about. Olivia, herself, was not ready to talk about it, but she knew that it would be like putting a pebble in front of a train to try to avoid Abbey on it.

/

"May I?" Abbey raised her eyebrow, reading the label of a wine bottle from the stash.

"Is this personal or business?"

"If I say _personal_ can I try this?"

"You never know the line between our friendship and our work so why start now?" Olivia joked, nodding consent for her to pour herself a glass.

"What do you think?" Abbey asked, pouring her glass.

"Of this wine?" Olivia raised her eyebrow, taking a sip. "It is a little too wooded—stiff. But they obviously paid a lot of attention to aging it, so that is to be appreciated."

"I meant Salas." Abbey said as she took a seat.

"I told you before. Now is not the time to think about it."

"Come on, Liv."

Olivia found some shelter in her wide wine glass as she took a slow and deliberate sip. "I told you before."

"You know that this is a golden opportunity." Abbey argued. "This is our second chance."

"We already proved ourselves with our first chance."

" _You know what I mean_."

"Abbey." Olivia warned.

"I am trying not to analyze why you are dragging your feet on this—"

"I'm not dragging my feet, when I am the boss." Olivia snapped.

Abbey sighed, setting her wine glass down on the table. "Then talk to me."

"I don't think that the timing is right." Olivia crossed her legs again.

"For you." Abbey challenged.

"I refuse to enter a campaign unless I can give my all. I don't see how I can fully commit with a toddler, and I also have to consider Fitz. I can't just promise to take off on a campaign bus for two years when we haven't even been married for a month."

"I knew it would be like this." Abbey said softly. "Don't throw your chance at real power away because you have a family. You can do both."

Olivia couldn't respond for a moment. She took the last gulp of her wine, using the distraction to collect her words so that she wouldn't regret anything she said. "I'm going to need you to stop the insinuation that I am some backwards woman who only wants to build a home. I have a home. And I plan on giving my all to maintain my home just like I give my all to maintain this firm. Does that mean that I have to make compromises? Yes, but I'm focused on what is realistic."

"Tell me that your gut is not telling you that Salas is the real deal." Abbey said. "He's got a swing state carrying him on their shoulders. He's attractive, young enough to be fresh, old enough to have years of experience in all levels of authority. He's got no shady business deals. He's garnered praise from his peers on the other side of the aisle. This guy could probably give a speech to Kim Jong-Un and convince him to abdicate. Literally the only obstacle we face is making him a house-hold name and finding him a pretty wife for optics. This is literally candy falling into our laps."

"I never said that he wasn't a promising candidate." Olivia admitted. "And I think he has the potential to be a great president."

"So let's us be the gladiators that get him there." Abbey practically begged. "He has already requested to meet with you. He has the _drive_ to get it done."

Olivia checked her phone, realizing that she should be heading home. "The decision is still mine to make, and my judgment stands. Now is not the time to think about it."

"But—" Abbey tried to interject.

"That is not a definitive _no_." Olivia insisted. "But I need you to respect whatever decision I make."

"Fine." Abbey stood up, taking it as her cue to leave. "He's going to be in D.C. in November for a charity ball. I have a meeting scheduled for Tuesday the 4th at 3pm. Let me know if you actually want to cancel."

Abbey slipped out before Olivia could reprimand her for making an appointment without her permission.

/

"Hey." Fitz smiled as Olivia walked through the door.

"Hi." Olivia eagerly accepted his hug, burying her head in his chest. "How was Alex after day care?"

"I think she was happy to see some of her friends again." Fitz kissed the top of her head. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Olivia mumbled. "It's just cruel to expect me to adjust from a private beach to D.C. in under 24 hours."

The deep chuckle in Fitz's throat was like therapy to her. She pulled back, letting him kiss her lips hello. She moaned, deepening the kiss. She couldn't help but rise to her tip toes, pressing her body deliberately against his.

"Hi." Olivia whispered, biting her lip.

"Hi." He took advantage of her ready mouth again, leaning down to kiss her again. "Is it anything you want to talk about?"

"No." Olivia smiled, leaning her head against his chest, before pulling away. "I'm fine, I just really needed that."

"Are you hungry? I wasn't sure if you were going to make it home in time, so I went ahead and put a plate in the fridge."

"Thank you, I meant to make it home in time, but I got held up."

"Did the country crumble while you were gone for a week?" Fitz joked, kissing her forehead and walking over to the fridge.

"Something like that." She went over to kiss Alex on the forehead. She asked her about her day and promised to join her playing with her dolls after dinner. When she turned around, Fitz had a glass of wine waiting for her. "You clean up nicely for a house-husband." She joked.

"I talked to the receptionist at the day care. They have their annual parent meetings in November and they want us to call to schedule an appointment."

"Okay."

"It isn't until November, but we might want to call early. You know how busy our schedules can get."

"I'll check my schedule and call tomorrow." Olivia nodded.

Fitz raised his eyebrow, expectantly.

"What?" She asked, mid bite.

"Shouldn't I be there too?"

"Oh, shit. Sorry." Olivia apologized. "We can check our schedules _together_."

"Thank you." He rose to kiss her cheek on his way to go check his phone. "They start the first week of November. We might as well get it over with. How does Monday morning look?"

"Not good." Olivia checked her schedule. "I have a client in court. What about that afternoon?"

"I'll be at work until Tuesday morning."

"You know your schedule that far ahead?"

"I make my schedule now." He smirked. "They are slowly transferring Cyrus's responsibilities before he officially retires in December. I'm trying to get the staff on a more regimented schedule so that they can predict for personal time in advance."

"Sexy." Olivia winked.

"What about Tuesday afternoon?"

"I could do that." Olivia nodded. "Wait… Nevermind." She checked where Abbey had submitted the meeting with Daniel Salas. "I don't think that will work either."

"Another court date?"

"Something like that." She said vaguely. In the back of her mind, she knew that she was tying herself into this meeting. She didn't want to have another tense argument with Abbey, telling her to cancel the meeting—mainly because she didn't want to call to cancel herself. Plus, it didn't feel right to say no without giving Salas a chance to vouch for himself. "What about Thursday?"

"I've got a training conference in Gathersburg." He sighed.

"Maybe I can just take notes for you—"

"No." He refused. "I'm going to be there."

"Friday?" Olivia said, typing into her calendar.

"I'm free after 11."

"I'll call tomorrow."

"Thank you." Fitz kissed her cheek again. Olivia was ever so conscious of how after they sealed the deal, that he was even more affectionate. It was like being his wife opened up a whole new level between them.

"I love you." She said, slightly as a tease as he walked away.

"Fuck, I love you too." He couldn't help but reply as he circled back around to kiss her more fully on the lips. She knew what those three words made him do, and he accepted it. Anytime that she was feeling down, all that she had to do was utter those words and he would be at her side. That was a part of their vows that was implied but never expressly stated. He didn't mind taking the opportunity to kiss her like she needed to be kissed.

Alex made a noise for attention in the background. They both pulled back at the same time to tend to her. Olivia almost laughed at how they were both so in tuned to _their_ —well, maybe not officially, they were waiting on the paperwork, but— _their_ daughter.

"Do you want to hear something good?" Olivia asked. She raised Alex onto her hip as she cleared her dishes.

"Of course."

"I sent the papers in."

"The papers?"

"For Alex." She bounced Alex on her hip, making her giggle.

"Already?"

"We signed them this morning, why wait?" Olivia grinned, but then her grin quickly faded. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"No, never. I just can't believe it is happening so quickly."

"Hold your horses…" Olivia put her hand on his chest. "I looked into it, and it usually takes at least two months to get the new birth certificate."

"A couple of months?" Fitz chuckled nervously, swooping Alex from Olivia's arms.

"It is only paperwork. I mean, once the birth certificate comes in it will be legal, but until then it is just semantics. It didn't hurt to get it in as soon as possible, though."

"Semantics?" He settled Alex against his side.

"Like you can call her daughter, and she can call you daddy."

"Can we frame the birth certificate when it comes in?"

"I think that might be a bit of an overkill." Olivia chuckled. "But we'll see."

/

 **NOVEMBER**

"You are late." Abbey reprimanded.

"Traffic." Olivia ignored her. She was dreading this meeting, despite the unmistakable flutter in her belly.

"I already took his tea order." Abbey said excitedly. "Mint with one sugar cube."

"Fuck, Abbey. Quit breathing down my neck." Olivia shrugged her anxious co-worker off of her shoulder. "Let me go do my job."

She had to practically shut the door in Abbey's eager face as she joined Daniel Salas in her office for their private meeting. She was already fifteen minutes late. It didn't help that Abbey was pretending that her agreeing to meet with him was a done deal.

"Governor." She smiled, extending her hand. "How has D.C. been treating you?"

"Better than how I imagine any outsider politician gets, I suppose." He said with charm. "It's an honor to meet with you, Mrs. Pope-Grant… Or do you prefer Mrs. Pope?"

"You can call me Olivia." She appreciated his effort in getting her name right. Normally, she paid no mind to whether clients called her by her maiden name. She assumed they either did not know of her marriage, or simply forgot. After all, the name on her door was still _Olivia Pope & Associates_. "Please, sit."

He sat down across from her, pleasantly crossing his leg. He seemed so at ease in her office, even though Olivia knew that he was probably scared shitless there. _Fuck_ , he was even more handsome in person. She took notes on everything.

"So you want to be president?" Olivia asked, scribbling into her notepad.

"You waste no time." He laughed nervously—his first sign of weakness in her mind.

"It was yes or no."

"Yes." He responded confidently. "I do."

"Why?"

"Why?" He questioned.

"Why." She said more as a statement than a question.

"Because I think that I have a potential to really make a difference in this country—really move this country forward in a positive direction."

"Hm." Olivia wrote down notes. She could tell that her outward appearance of judgment was making him squirm. That was another note to take. "What makes you think that you have what it takes?"

"What makes any man think that he has _what it takes_ to lead the country?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Because I believe in myself." He said with a little more confidence. "I look at what I have accomplished in my state and I am proud. I want to bring this agenda to a national stage."

"Mmm." Olivia scribbled some more. Usually, she didn't write down notes in front of a client, but she wanted to push his buttons a little.

"What are you writing down?" He asked.

"You don't want to know."

"If I asked, then I want to know."

"Fine." Olivia put her pen down, making unwavering eye contact with him. "Every time I ask a question, you reply with a question. You dodge it, to buy yourself time."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Good for a small time governor. It shows you have skill in holding off until you have a proper answer. But in a national _televised_ debate with, say, 5 million viewers? Not going to cut it. It will come off as shifty and arrogant."

"Noted." He surprised her with his calmness. Most people would get discouraged, but he took it. She also wrote that down.

"Why come to us? We are a crisis management firm. We deal with people's worst. Why were we the first people that you called?"

"You are the best."

"Be more specific." She scribbled some more. "That answer wouldn't last you five seconds without Twitter eating you alive and Anderson Cooper going in for the kill."

"Okay." He centered in. "You deal with people's problems. That is your job description. You can turn any weakness into a strength."

"So you come in with weaknesses?" Olivia began to write, but he cut her pen off with his words.

"I don't think so, but you are the judge here. That is the foundation of your strengths. That lets me know that you can fight for me in case a curveball gets thrown. But there is something that separates you from any other crisis management firm. You don't see me knocking at Leo Bergen's door. You never quit. You move mountains that seem like mole hills to the public eye, but anyone trained in the public eye can see that they are Mount Everest. But you make them seem like mole hills, which is even more important. If you were just a crisis firm, then half of your clients would not be. You are a renaissance of a firm."

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"You, Olivia Pope-Grant—or Olivia Pope at the time—got our 44th president into office. Not only did you get him into office, you set him up on such an infallible platform that he soared into his second term, making it clear that you have the capability past any other."

"I was hired to that campaign. I was working with a machine."

"Please—that campaign was floundering until you were hired. You turned it around. Don't think that nobody noticed." This was the first time that he was showing perception past flattery and clichés. "And you turned down a sweet, cushioned west wing job to run your own firm. That shows that you aren't afraid to step outside of the line to do your own thing. I need someone like you—if anybody can get someone elected—it is you."

Olivia picked up her pen to write, but he cut her off again.

"I just told you what you bring to the table. Why don't you tell me what made you meet with me? Or would you rather keep taking notes like it is some kind of shrink meeting?"

Olivia couldn't help but laugh. The air was cleared, and now they had to get to business. "You are a successful governor in an important swing state. North Carolina will follow you over a cliff which will carry you at least through the primaries. You have an admirable background in public service which builds trust. You are young and a minority. Handsome."

"You think I'm handsome?" He grinned.

"Speaking from a _voter's_ perspective, you are handsome. And that is all that matters." Olivia set it straight. "You have bipartisan sponsorship on various issues. Despite being a democrat, you still take your tea with a cube of sugar, letting southerners know that you have not abandoned their beloved drink. You champion issues that resonate with the average American: education, paid maternity leave, transparent tax allocation. You are clean of any dirty corporate fingers in your politics. But that is just the rosy stuff."

"And the not-so-rosy?"

"Despite a clean and productive governorship, you have failed to garner any national buzz. You are a mosquito on the windshield of larger politicians vying for this next term. Voters will say _'who?'_ when asked about you in polls. You are still young. You have no international or military experience. You have no family. No beautiful wife to tote along with cute kids to sop up press photos at ice cream stands. Voters won't be able to place you to a degree. Despite progression, even liberals still need a traditional family to fit into their idea of a president. They won't _say_ it, but they will _think_ that you are gay. Well, I mean certain blogs will _insist_ that you are gay."

"I'm not gay." He said quickly. "Not… that there is anything wrong with being gay. People should love who they—"

"Your defensiveness there will make people talk." Olivia said. "The internet will run with anything."

"Which are things you can help me with." He replied.

"A wife and kids?" Olivia raised her eyebrow. "This is not a matchmaking service."

"Everything else." He took a sip from his tea.

Olivia didn't have anything to say, so she began to write down notes.

"Don't act like these are not minor publicity issues that can be turned around within hours of your team. I know what y'all are capable of. And I have what it takes. I haven't had an easy life by far means. I know how to take an uppercut to the jaw and wipe the blood from my lip."

"So now you are cocky?" Olivia dug, trying to knock him off balance.

"I am who I am." He ignored her insult, which she took note of. "I am not perfect, nor am I ready _right now_ to face a national campaign. But that is where I need you. I think that together…" He reached across to take her hand in his. A move completely violating any first meeting protocol. "… we can make a damn good team."

Olivia pulled her hand back, conscious of her team that was undoubtedly taking turns of who could watch with hawk eyes from the conference room. "I will consider all of this and let you know."

"Bullshit." He scoffed, not out of arrogance, but out of amusement. Olivia honestly appreciated his candidness, but she couldn't show it—at least not this early.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't act like every decision in this office does not completely rely on you. Your team is capable, no doubt. There is no humanly way that you accomplish all of the miracles this office accomplishes, which makes me sure that you have a ride or die team around you, but it is clear that only you greenlight anything. Maybe you have a sixth sense or something, but you can decide right now if you will take me."

"Is this an ultimatum?"

"This is your opportunity to either let me go back on my plane to Raleigh with a wounded ego, or let me go back to Raleigh with concrete plane tickets to return to D.C. within the next month to start brainstorming."

Olivia cocked her eyebrow, scrolling back through her notes to buy time.

"And don't scam those notes like they aren't some kind of crutch to buy yourself more time to decide." He put his hand over her notes. "You know that I am the real deal. Just say yes."

Olivia pulled the notes from his hand, standing. He rose quickly, following her move. When she extended her hand, he shook it, unclear of whether it was an acceptance shake or a _thanks for the offer but no thanks_ shake.

"I will be in contact with you within the next week…" Olivia paused. "To brainstorm."

"I look forward to it." He beamed.

Olivia watched him leave her office, trusting her team to properly show him out of the office. Before she could collapse into her desk chair, Abbey was striding into her office.

"Didn't I tell you?"

"He's good." Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'll give you that."

"There is _good_ then there is _sure fire oval office material good._ " Abbey beamed. "Don't lie."

"Quit gloating." Olivia rolled her eyes. "You should be focusing on wrapping up current clients instead of gushing in my office. You are _engaged_ , remember? Plus you are about to go on a honeymoon, and I need that stack on your desk finished _before_ the wedding."

"That doesn't mean I can't appreciate from a distance." Abbey rolled her eyes with a concluding wink. "But don't act like he didn't make your lady parts twitch, as well."

"Get out of my office." Olivia threw a pen in her direction. "I have timely work to do so that I can go home to my _handsome_ husband."

"Whatever." Abbey quickly ducked out, leaving Olivia to figure how she would tell Fitz about it.

/

"Don't you look handsome?" Olivia grinned. She especially drew out the _handsome_ , knowing that it would make him blush and swagger just a little differently.

"I was hoping you would notice." He grinned, halfway referring to the new suit he bought, but also just referring to the way she was swooning at the sight of him in a skinny tie. He firmly grasped her waist, holding her in position against the wall.

"It's kind of my job to." Olivia teased, gasping suddenly. He had her ass possessively in his hands, pressing every inch of her flesh to him.

"It's my _duty_ to appreciate this dress." He whispered at how she offered her neck for ample kisses with no protest. How dare she compliment his suit without giving the opportunity to appreciate the new threads she had on. A navy blue that was just flowy enough to capture her secretive free spirit, but just tight enough in the _right_ places to remind him that the beautiful woman in front of him was completely his.

Olivia knew better than to even attempt at a response. The way his mouth was sucking along his neck had her speechless. It wasn't until he gripped her chin in his open palm that she saw themselves in vanity mirror.

"Fuck."

"What?"

"We can't—"

"We could." Fitz mumbled as he grabbed the fabric of her dress, rising it above her waist.

" _No_." Olivia pushed him back. When she saw his surprised and slightly amused face, she almost caved. "Fuck, why do I always have to be the one to be responsible?"

"Sorry." Fitz apologized, but they both knew that his apology was more of an admittance.

"Yeah right." Olivia rolled her eyes. "You know, as much as I love you…" She used the opportunity to put a safe amount of space between her and him. "I kind of have to maintain my outer relationships… _Being in my best friend's wedding…_ Is one of those things I have to do..."

"Livvie?" He whispered, gravitating back towards her.

" _Fitz_!" She resisted his last attempt, putting her hand against his chest and holding him at arm's length.

"Fine…"

"Maybe tonight." She teased.

"Tonight?"

" _If you behave._ "

"Deal." He smirked.

"Why do I doubt this?" She raised her eyebrow.

"I don't know why you doubt your own husband." Fitz argued in jest. "That I can't resist myself…"

"History repeats itself." Olivia rolled her eyes as she slid past him and reached for her purse. " _Behave past midnight_ , and I might let you get it tonight."

"Cruel." He let his last tease set in before he grabbed his wallet and everything else, letting her know that he was ready to go.

/

"Congratulations." Olivia kissed Abbey's cheek. She looked beautiful, her usually straight hair curved in soft, waves. Her dress was simple, but elegant with tight fitting lace. Despite Olivia being Abbey's maid of honor, she didn't have the opportunity to properly congratulate her after the ceremony. It wasn't until halfway through the reception that Abbey caught a break from shaking so many hands and smiling for pictures.

"Thank you." Abbey smiled. Olivia could tell just by one look that it was all too much for her. The floral arrangements, the important only half acquainted guests, the large church, the grand reception with every detail meticulously planned by their wedding planner.

"Let's go get a drink." Olivia winked, pulling her by her hand.

"You know me better than anyone else." Abbey laughed, eagerly following her out of the crowd to the open bar. "A glass of red and some scotch from that bottle you hide from the display."

"Of course." The bar tender fixed their drinks. Olivia tipped him and walked with Abbey to the corner of the giant ball room, but Abbey hooked her hand under Olivia's elbow and pulled her towards the door. She nodded her over to a side room.

"Talk to me." Olivia walked over to the window, overlooking a courtyard. "Cold feet?"

"I've already said _I do_ … Can you even have cold feet after the vows?" Abbey said in a laugh, as she took a sizable gulp.

"Then why are you drinking that scotch like a fish." Olivia crossed her arms.

"I'm just trying to catch my breath." Abbey sat down in one of the chairs. "It's a lot to handle."

Olivia sat across from her, trying to decipher her words. "What is… Getting married?" Abbey almost scoffed at her words. "Or the ceremony?"

"I counted three cabinet members out there. _Cabinet members_. At _my_ wedding."

"Two of which have been clients." Olivia chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "You know them better than their own wives, probably."

"But that is at work. I am an employee of OPA, and I have a little protection there. This is different. This is my personal name being thrown out there. This is Mr. & Mrs. David Rosen having their own goddamn column in the gossip section of the Washington Post."

"He's the Attorney General." Olivia reminded.

"I know…" Abbey trailed off. "And that isn't the issue. I love him being Attorney General. _We_ put him there. He loves his job, and I love that he loves it. It is all of _this_." She motioned in a vague wave back to where the rest of the reception was taking place and leaned back into her glass.

Olivia's phone buzzed in her purse, so she checked it out of habit. It was Fitz asking her where she went. David was wondering about Abbey too. Olivia quickly texted him that they were talking about something private, and would be back shortly.

"You will adjust." Olivia reached out to hold her hand. "As long as you focus on David and what you two have aside from all of this bullshit… You two will be fine."

"You make it sound so easy."

"I mean it." Olivia squeezed her hand. "Whenever it gets to be too overwhelming, just… learn to tune it out. Take a step back and breathe. Remind yourself why you married him."

Abbey nodded, pulling her in for a hug. "You always know the right things to say."

"You are my best friend, it is kind of my job." Olivia kissed her cheek, readjusting her hair. "Now, let's get back out there before the Post reads _Runaway Wife_ instead of _Happy Ever After_."

Olivia returned Abbey to David and found Fitz refilling his glass at the bar. He immediately slipped his arm around her waist. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is fine." Olivia accepted a kiss to her temple.

"It wasn't work related, was it?" He teased, sliding his hand further along her ass.

"I think Abbey would find a new maid of honor in a heartbeat if I dragged her away to talk about work today." Olivia didn't even move to pull his hand up like she normally would. "Where is Alex?"

"I handed her over to Quinn three minutes ago, hoping to steal a dance from you." Fitz nodded over to where Quinn was happily engaged in a conversation that Olivia could tell was 90% Alex talking about anything and everything in her babyish babbling.

"Ah, do you think she could hold her for one more song?" Olivia asked as the band changed tempo to a slower song.

"I don't think she'll care."

"Lead the way, Mr. Grant." Olivia smirked as he pulled her to the floor. Olivia loved dancing with him, because he was honestly a skilled dancer. He managed to keep them moving across the floor, without ruining any intimacy.

"You have yet to tell me to retrieve my hand from its inappropriate position, is everything okay?" Fitz joked, pulling her even closer.

"Am I not allowed to let my husband inappropriately grope me in a room with some of the country's most powerful people?" Olivia winked, still making no move. "Maybe I'm just feeling thankful for you."

"What did I do?"

"Waited for me." Olivia said honestly, pulling back only so she could see his face. "Put up with my shit every now and then."

"That part isn't easy." Fitz chuckled.

"Shut up, asshole, I'm trying to compliment you." Olivia rolled her eyes.

"I know what you mean." Fitz kissed her forehead. "I'm glad that this thing we have is working out."

"Maybe this _boring_ married life is a good thing." Olivia hummed, laying her head on his arm.

"Who said anything about boring?" Fitz suggestively squeezed her ass, not enough to be noticed by anybody else, but just enough to make Olivia self-consciously pull away.

"Behave, or I will make sure that Alex is tastefully positioned between us for the rest of the night."

"Noted."

/

"What are you doing up so early?" Fitz reached desperately in his sleep for some contact with her. She was sitting up in the bed, so he rested his hand on her thigh. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." Olivia ran a hand through his hair. "Just thinking about some work things."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Fitz propped himself up on his elbow.

Olivia was honestly touched by the fact that he didn't roll over, but instead offered to help. If only what was bothering her wasn't that she had to figure out how to tell him that she agreed to manage Daniel Salas's campaign. That she had partially lied to him already. Even though he did not explicitly say he didn't approve, she already knew how the conversation would go.

"Nothing that can't wait until the morning." Olivia dismissed. She laid back down, leaning in to kiss him. "Thanks, though."

"Go back to sleep." He kissed her nose.

/

"Are you ready to tell me?" Fitz scared Olivia accidentally when he went to kiss her shoulder.

"Shit." Olivia put her hand to her heart. "Don't sneak up on me like that until I've finished my first cup of coffee."

"Sorry." Fitz kissed Alex on the forehead and poured himself a mug. He raised his eyebrows, still waiting for an answer to his previous question.

"What?"

"Last night you said that whatever was keeping you up could wait until the morning… It is morning." Fitz took a seat at a counter stool.

"Right." Olivia caught on. She wasn't ready to tell him, but she knew that prolonging it would only make it worse. She bought some time by wiping Alex's mouth from her breakfast. "Do you remember on our honeymoon when you saw me looking up that governor?"

"North Carolina?"

"Yeah." Olivia took a sip of coffee. "Daniel Salas."

"What about him? Isn't he planning on running for president?" Fitz searched his memory.

"OPA has decided to represent him." Olivia dropped the bomb.

Fitz's eyebrows rose in shock, even though he tried to mask his reaction. "You are going to manage his campaign?"

"Don't be mad." Olivia crossed over to him, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm not…" He said defensively. He smoothed over his response by putting his hands on her hips.

"It is a bit of a commitment… We will probably announce in May—maybe June depending on what other candidates come forth first. We are focusing on stamina so that voters do not get burn out on him. Primaries aren't until the next March, which means that heavy campaigning will be required. Once he wins the party's vote—which he will—it will be full guns blazing until November."

"Two years from now?"

"Yeah." Olivia slid in between his legs. She expected more of a response from him, but he was still in a bit of shock. "What do you think?"

"Are you asking my opinion?"

"Of course."

"You seem excited, so I'm happy for you." He responded.

"Really?" Olivia exclaimed.

"Really."

"Thank you." Olivia hugged him tightly. "I know it may seem like it is a lot, but believe me, we will make it work. I can't be late for work, but I promise that we will talk about this more tonight."

"I'm on call." Fitz said.

"Shit… Then maybe we can talk about it tomorrow?"

"Okay." He consented, pecking her lips. Olivia could tell that he wasn't as excited as he seemed, but she didn't have time to dig deeper. She still had to drop off Alex at day care and get to work early, since Abbey wouldn't be in for another week.

"I love you." She kissed his forehead, rustling his bed head mop of hair.

/

Olivia couldn't tell if she wanted Fitz to come home that night or not. She left work early to pick up Alex from her day care, and spent the whole afternoon running errands and playing with her. By the time that she had Alex bathed and ready for bed, she was exhausted herself. She almost fell asleep in Alex's bed as she read her night time story.

She kissed an already asleep Alex one last time and looked up to see Fitz standing in the doorway. Carefully removing herself from the bed, she watched Fitz cross the room to kiss Alex's forehead. She passed him smoothly, kissing him on the arm. She needed more time before they had this conversation. As she ran through her nightly routine, she tried to determine how much of the conflict she was making up. _Has he actually said to her that he didn't want her taking on a national campaign?_ No, but he _did_ say that he didn't like her spending so long away from him. _He did seem excited that morning_ … But he could also be so complacent and he _always_ put her needs above his. Despite her procrastination, she was ready for bed. She made sure to only wear one of his t shirts to hopefully help in her favor. She approached Fitz laying on his side, on his phone in the bed.

"Are you expected back soon?" She asked, trying to draw on the fact that he was on call and just returned from the hospital.

"I was called in three hours ago, but it was an easy delivery. It was the mother's fourth go at it, so she was a pro." Fitz said, putting his phone down. "I doubt that I'll be called back, they had a full staff working. But you never know."

Olivia crawled under the cover, despite the fact that Fitz was still fully clothed on top of them. She reached forward to kiss him, but she could tell just by his body language that he wanted to talk about their previous conversation. She hated how he was such an open book at times.

"Daniel Salas?" He asked, once she pulled back from their kiss.

"He's the real deal." Olivia said honestly. "He's a dream candidate. We have searched every bit of his past, and nothing sends red flags. He's not perfect, but we know about every issue. They are all easily manageable—I mean—if we were ever to make a play at the oval again, this is OPA's chance."

"I don't like how you decided this without my input." Fitz said honestly.

"Since when do my business decisions require your approval?" Olivia asked, alarmed.

"They never have… You know that I don't intrude on OPA, but this impacts more than your professional life. This affects Alex and me."

"It will make things more difficult, but we can make it work." Olivia put her hand to his cheek. "I have faith in _us_."

"I think that it will change a lot of things between us."

"No it won't—" Olivia argued.

"Think through the details with me." Fitz said, ready to lay out all of his worst fears. "You are on a tour bus—"

"You make it sound like I'm a groupie chasing my favorite band. This is a _political campaign_ bus."

"You are on a bus." Fitz ignored her "What? Five days of the week? Six? Full seven day weeks? You can't expect to bring Alex on a cross-country bus as a healthy environment. That doesn't even include me into the equation."

"I never said it would be easy." Olivia sat up. She stared straight ahead. "But this is something I want."

"What about what I want?"

"Why are you making this about you?" Olivia asked.

"Because it affects me."

"I thought that we were on the same page about my work." Olivia sighed, turning her head to face him.

"This is different." Fitz argued. "This isn't you having to leave at three in the morning for a new crisis. This isn't you being glued to your phone 24/7. You are committing to a year and a half of being everywhere but here."

"It is not like I'm going to disappear and only return for Christmas and birthdays."

"Then what will it be like?" Fitz raised his eyebrow. "Because I have yet to hear any specifics."

"I would be in and out." Olivia said. "No more than four days on the road. I will travel on the bus, then fly in and out of whatever airport is closest. I will try to be here for the weekends. You will be department head by then, so you won't be home during the week."

"What about Alex?"

"That is the hardest part." Olivia said, soberly. "We might need to hire back a nanny part-time. I will do my best to be there."

"What if it is not good enough?" Fitz mumbled, getting out of bed.

"Excuse me?" Olivia asked, but he was already out of the bedroom. She sighed, following him. He was pulling a canter of scotch out of the cabinet. "And now you are drinking."

"A drink is different from drinking." He scoffed, taking a sip.

"You are on call."

"If anything, a glass of scotch keeps me relaxed when pulling babies out of strangers' uteruses." He said in humor, but not towards her.

"I don't think that you know how much this means to me." Olivia got back on track. "I know that this isn't ideal, but we can do this."

"That is the first time you have mentioned _we_."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that this entire time that you have been making decisions about our family without the consent of anybody else."

"I don't think that making a business decision for my firm required a signature from my husband."

"I just don't what _we_ have to change."

"I didn't think it would, but apparently being a wife means that I can't think for myself anymore."

"Don't say it like that." Fitz rolled his eyes. "I do not breathe down your shoulder on every decision you make as the CEO of your firm. I trust you to do whatever the fuck you do to make what makes OPA the place it is. I will, however, state my opinion when it means that my wife won't be…" He trailed off, struggling to find his words.

"Fulfilling her wifely duties?" Olivia scoffed, grabbing the scotch and walking down towards the basement.

"Where are you going? Don't walk away."

"To put some distance between us and my daughter on the off chance that she might wake up and cry at the sound of our voices."

"Your daughter?" Fitz scoffed, taking another gulp. He followed her down the stairs.

"The paperwork hasn't come in yet." Olivia reminded.

"Why are you making me out to be some sexist asshole that wants you barefoot and pregnant fixing my scotch every night at 5:30 sharp? I do most of the goddamn housework around here anyways."

Olivia cocked her head to the side. "What would have happened if I proposed this before we got married? Before you proposed?"

He reached for the scotch from her hands, pouring a second glass.

"Way to go. Keep drinking, and we will really been in 19 fucking 57."

"I would have been concerned just as much." He said honestly. "This is about you committing to something that affect the people around you. It affects the people that care about you. But you are too fucking selfish to even notice."

"Fuck you." Olivia tried to shove passed him, but he grabbed her arm.

"Get your hands off of me." She growled.

"Don't ever make me out as some fucking caveman like my father." He released her arm, rubbing it softly. "That is not what I am, and you know it."

"I know." Olivia didn't move away from his touch. She kind of liked how he grabbed her like that. She wanted nothing more than to grab his canter out of his hand and take a swig of the burning scotch. But instead, she held her hands at her side, unmoving. "But I can't let you control me like this—"

"This isn't control—"

"I am going to manage this campaign. I am going to kick ass at it. I am going to _win_." She took a deep breath, like she was convincing herself. "And you can either sleep in the bed with me tonight, or take the couch. There are blankets and pillows in the linen closet." She pushed past him on her way back to the bedroom.

"I'm on call, so maybe I should stay down here. So I don't disturb you." Fitz muttered, sitting down on the couch. He began to pour himself another drink.

For the first time since moving in together, she wished that she had her old apartment. She didn't want him sleeping on the couch, but she didn't even really want him sleeping in the bed with her. She just wanted some space to be alone. She didn't dwell on those emotions as she walked upstairs without looking back.

/

The next morning, Olivia awoke to a note on the counter. _Got called in. Probably won't be back before you leave. I love you. – Fitz_

She sighed deeply, pouring herself some coffee. She hated sleeping alone, knowing that he was two stories below her, angry with her. Not that she even got any sleep. She spent most of her night lying dead still, waiting to hear some movement from downstairs—some sign that he was just as miserable as she was.

But now it was the morning, and she had a sleepy toddler that she had to rush out of the door to daycare. She was two steps from walking out of the door with Alex when Fitz walked in the door. He looked exhausted, but she couldn't tell if it was the overnight shift or their fight.

"Good morning." She said softly. "How was the hospital?"

"Busy." He replied, kissing Alex on the cheek. He tried to walk past her, but she put her hand against his stomach.

"I'm sorry about last night." Olivia whispered. She stood there for a moment, waiting for him to say something. He pulled her in for a hug, kissing her hair. Olivia allowed herself to lose herself for a moment before pulling back. She dabbed the corner of her eye, hoping that the tears threatening to fall would not ruin her morning makeup. "I don't like going to bed mad at you."

"Have a great day at work." He kissed her forehead, really pushing past her on his way to bed.

/

Olivia was fresh out of the shower, rubbing lotion into her legs. Fitz leaned against the door frame, watching her shamelessly.

"Are you going to stand there or are you going to help me out?" She smirked.

He sauntered over to her, bowing on his knees. "Give me some lotion."

She poured some lotion into his hands and watched with anticipation. He rubbed it between his hands and then massaged it into her leg. "Where have you been?" Pert of her didn't want to fully know the answer. They hadn't spoken since their cold morning, and after checking his work schedule, he should have been home hours ago.

"I was grabbing drinks with one of my nurses."

"Someone I should be worried about?"

"Brian is totally gay." He smirked at the surprised laugh that rippled across from her. "He just got approved for adoption with his husband, so we went out for a round."

"I love you."

"I know." He moved his hands further up her legs until he got to the hem of her towel. A quick tug pulled the towel apart and left her body fully exposed. "I need more lotion."

Olivia squirted more into his hands, trying to control herself. She was practically squirming as he massaged her hips. He rubbed a new amount of lotion into her breasts.

"Fuck." She craned her neck forward to kiss him, but her lips barely made contact. He was making her wait for it. "This isn't fair." She tried again, but he dodged her, moving his hands down to her inner thighs.

"Only you would find a way to make me servicing you, on my knees, unfair." He chuckled, lowering his mouth to her neck.

She took advantage of his closeness by using her foot to rub against his crotch. He tensed and decided to repay her by biting along her neck. "I meant it is unfair to you."

"You are playing with fire." He moaned, kissing her sternum.

"Then quit playing with me." Olivia growled, pulling him by the ears to her lips. He pressed her body to his, linking her legs around his waist. She yelped when he picked her up and started carrying her to the bed.

"Shhhh. Or else prepare your explanation for why mommy was screaming and knocking the wall last night"

"Then don't make me scream." She moaned into his ear.

"Fat chance." He dropped her onto the bed, making her laugh out loud. "See?"

Olivia pulled his shirt over his head and kissed his chest. "Ah, shit." She cursed, reaching over for the night stand.

"What is it?" He rolled off and raised an eyebrow when she pulled a condom out. "Since when do we use condoms?"

"Since I ran out of birth control yesterday and forgot to refill after work… Shit I'm sorry." Ever since her miscarriage, she had switched to the pill. Even though Fitz told her that an IUD mishap probably wouldn't happen again, she was conditioning herself to take a pill every morning.

"I mean, we _could_ go without one."

"And you _could_ go fuck yourself in the bathroom with a bottle of lotion."

"Fair point. Okay, let me see it." He chuckled, taking his pants off and putting it on. "Now, where were we?"

"You were telling me to be quiet."

"Oh, yeah." He chuckled rolling back on top of her. "Do you think that you can? Because I don't want to have to keep my hand over your mouth. I have plans for it."

"Like what?" Olivia laughed. His hand trailed down her stomach, making her smirk turn into a lip bite of anticipation.

"Like this." He reached down and dragged a finger along her slit. He slid one finger into her and then a second. He curled them in making her back arch and her toes curl. Right when she got used to the sensation of his fingers, he stroked into her with his dick, making her fingers clench into is hair. She moaned loudly, rolling her head forward to bite his shoulder.

"Shhh." He reminded, slightly serious this time. Alex had given them blue balls too many times already, and they both really needed this release.

"I'll keep my mouth busy then." She sucked along his shoulder. Every time that he hit deeper and harder, she sucked on his neck or bit his lip or dug her fingernails into his ass. Fitz lifted her leg out to the side and rotated his hips into her.

Even though it felt weird to fuck her with a condom on, she made up for it with her mouth. He sought out her lips to kiss her until they were both breathless, approaching their high. Olivia came unexpectedly, moaning into his mouth. Fitz hiked her leg over his shoulder and finished off. Once he was through, he kissed her softly, soothing her swollen lips.

He rolled off of her, making his way to the bathroom to throw his condom in the trash. He returned to find Olivia slipping on one of his t shirts. Once of the small things he loved about her was how she didn't stick to a few of his t shirts. She rotated them out, meaning that all of his shirts smelled like her. He put his pajama pants on and climbed into bed, pulling her into a spooning position.

"I am going to run Salas's campaign." She said firmly.

"I don't want to talk about it right now." He mumbled into her hair. He didn't want to ruin what they had at the moment, and he sure as hell did not want to sleep on the couch again.

"Listen to me." She ignored him. "I am going to run his campaign because I am going to win. My firm is behind me. We all see this opportunity as a shining ticket, and he deserves to be in office." He tensed in the bed, pulling his hand off of her hip. She ignored his body language and kept talking. "But I won't go on the road with them. I will send Marcus, Abbey, and Quinn under my close communication and leadership. Huck will stay here with me, and we will manage the D.C. campaign headquarters as well as OPA."

"So you will be here?"

Olivia turned to face him. "Yes." She put a hand to his cheek and kissed him. "But it won't be easy. I don't like taking on a project that I can't give my 100% to."

"I know."

"It also won't be easy for you." She admitted. "I will be essentially working two jobs. Even if I'm not on the road, I will still be with them through technology. That means I will be on my phone even more than I am now."

"I didn't think that was possible." He said lightly, pulling a curl from her neck and letting it fall on the pillow behind her. He didn't even try hiding how happy he was hearing.

"And campaigns are never perfect. I will have to fly to wherever they are, depending on if any problems arise."

"I am comfortable with this compromise." He kissed her to seal it. Even though he was ecstatic that she was giving up so much for this, he still had some things he wanted to say. "But, about last night."

Olivia almost groaned out loud. She hoped that her telling him how they would run the campaign would put their previous fight to rest.

"I don't like how you insinuated that it was sexist of me to want you here." He rubbed his thumb along her shoulder softly. "It hurt me know that you would put your job over us—without even really asking me."

"I did ask you." Olivia said defensively. She was too exhausted—emotionally from the previous night and physically from having sex—to fight, but the conversation was making her uncomfortable.

"No, you told me. Asking me would have meant taking my concerns into question without fighting over it." His brow crinkled as he tried to find the right words. "It is not unreasonable nor backwards to want you to put work into our family and home. I don't mind leaning in with Alex more, but I can't do this alone. Things are different now that we are married. Those words did not just mean legality and a name change. We have to put more work and commitment into each other."

"I don't like feeling caged." Olivia said. Those words hit Fitz in his gut.

"I never want to cage you."

"And I know you would never do it intentionally." Olivia said gently. "I have put way too much work into my firm. I built it from scratch and I am the most proud of it. It is my legacy. What scares me the most is not performing my best at it—getting distracted or sidelined by my personal life…"

Fitz nodded. He couldn't downplay that a large source of her fulfillment came from her job. It reminded him of when he was married to Mellie. He put all of his happiness in his job, and frankly wasn't there for his wife. It created a gap in his relationship for Mellie to find love elsewhere. That was how he and Olivia were wired differently. Now, he would never consider his job a high priority. It was always his family—which expanded to Olivia and Alex when they met. "I just don't want what _we_ have right now to change."

Olivia wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "I know."

Fitz hugged her tightly in his arms. "So we are good?"

"Mhmm." She mumbled into his chest.

"Is there anything else about last night you want to talk about? I would hate for something I said when I was angry to be bothering you."

Olivia was silent for a moment, deciding whether she should bring it up. "It hurt me that you questioned my capabilities as a mother last night." She admitted. He, of all people, should know how insecure she was about being a mother. She had no guidelines from her own mother, and when Alex was born, she was shoved into it unprepared.

"I know… And I think you are an incredible mother. I am constantly amazed by how you juggle Alex and work." He drew her hand to his and kissed her knuckles. "I never meant to doubt you."

"I love you."

"I love you too." He laid back on his back and waited for her to curl into his side.

"Oh, shit." Olivia rolled out of the bed, "I forgot something."

"Is it important enough to leave bed?" He asked, watching her go over to her dresser and pull an envelope out of her underwear drawer.

"I didn't really forget, I just wanted to wait until we were good." She crawled up his body and sat it on his lap. "It came in the mail today."

Fitz sat up and pulled the document out of the envelope. "Holy shit." He looked up at her. "This is real?"

"Yes." Olivia laughed, putting her hands on his shoulders and leaning in to kiss him. "It is official. We are officially parents."

"Can you start calling me _daddy_ too?" He didn't even try hiding his growing erection. She wasn't wearing any panties, and the way that she was shifting against his lap.

"Absolutely not."

"It was worth a try." He flashed a lopsided smirk, flipping her over for round two.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this installment. I haven't even started on Chapter 18, so I can't tell you the next time it will be out. Thank you for your continued support and reviews!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey, guys. Sorry this is so late. The good news is that I ave a sizable portion of the next chapter written, so hopefully it won't take too long. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Good morning, love." Olivia kissed along the corner of Fitz's mouth.

"Hmm?" He mumbled, slowly waking up. His hand automatically pressed against the small of her back to find it bare. Certainly, it wasn't how he remembered her falling asleep. They had an uneventful night, knowing that he had to get up early for his big day. Today was when he would officially take over Cyrus's office and be the new department head. "Wait, what time is it?" He reached over to flip on the lamp by the bed and check the alarm clock.

"Fifteen minutes before your alarm will go off." Olivia didn't lighten her lips along his jaw. "Don't worry." She began to kiss to his neck. "I wouldn't let you oversleep."

Fitz slid his hand lower down her back to test how bare she was. "You are naked." He smirked.

Olivia kissed his neck, playfully nipping at his earlobe. "I also wouldn't let you start your big day without being relaxed." She began to inch further down, pulling the covers back. The feeling of her bare body rubbing against his made his morning wood painfully obvious.

"This is a hell of a wakeup call." He mumbled as she pulled his pajama pants down to his ankles. She was so captivating, that he could have just watched her fresh faced, with her bed hair tied back and be happy. But she had different plans. He was already so rigid in her hands that she had no problem stroking him to full capacity.

"Fuck." he moaned as she licked his tip, keeping her hand at the base. Fitz's breath deepened as her breasts rubbed against his thigh. She took him a little at a time, teasing him just enough to make him crazy. She couldn't resist the way he was trying not to be too loud in his praises. Fitz propped himself up on one arm, taking control of her pace with his hand at the nape of her neck. He finally gave in, cumming with mumbled words of praise.

Olivia silently dismissed herself to the bathroom to rinse her mouth with mouthwash. When she returned, Fitz was still panting, pulling his pants back up.

"What are you doing?" He asked as she grabbed her t shirt and put it back on. She got in the bed on her side and curled up next to him.

"Enjoying the last five minutes before your alarm goes off."

"I liked you better naked." He teased, tugging at the hem of her shirt.

"But then we might get into trouble, and you can't be late today."

"What if I want to get into trouble?"

"You can't be late today." She reminded, laying her head on his chest.

"Touché." He kissed her hair.

"I was looking at the schedule for the campaign, and there is a benefit gala in New York over President's Day weekend. We are hoping to mop up some wealthy donors to the campaign. I need handsome arm candy to help seal the deal with them. Would you want to come?"

"Can we squeeze visiting Karen in?"

"Of course."

"Count me in."

"I'll schedule the flights." Olivia kissed his chest.

/

"Hey college girl." Olivia smiled as she spotted Karen at the train station. They had not seen each other since the wedding. A bad blizzard rolled through the North West during Thanksgivings, ruining anybody's holiday travel plans. She had to settle for dining hall food and a skype call. But now her finals were done and she was home for Christmas break.

"Olivia!" Karen wheeled her oversized suitcase over to give her a hug. "Where is Dad?"

"He couldn't get off of work in time. His first week as department head has been hectic. And Mellie is picking up Jerry from Raegan. So you are stuck with me."

"I don't mind." Karen smiled as she followed Olivia to her car.

"I'll have to pick Alex up on the way to drop you off, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. I've been dying to see the little munchkin in person. I bet she has grown so much."

"You act like your father doesn't send you pictures daily." Olivia laughed. "But she will be happy to see you."

"You said that you were going to drop me off?" Karen asked as she put her suitcase in Olivia's trunk. "Am I not going to Georgetown with you?"

"Dinner with your mom. You knew that." Olivia chuckled as they buckled their seatbelts. "But… You can come over after and we can catch up."

"Cool." Karen nodded. "Dad mentioned something about a presidential campaign. That you have big plans coming up."

"It's kind of a tight lips situation right now, but we do have a candidate." Olivia smiled. "We are currently in the research stage, getting all of our ducks in a row before we go public."

"That is so cool." Karen gushed. "If you win, that would mean that you get a job in the White House, right? That would be _so_ cool."

"Not _if_ , but _when_." Olivia winked. "And that doesn't necessarily mean that I am signing my life over to the new administration. I like my own firm. And I've turned down the west wing before."

"Must be nice to have those options." Karen noted.

"You will too if you work hard and graduate." Olivia pivoted. "By the way, how are those freshman grades?"

"I just finished my last final a couple of days ago. I won't see my GPA for another couple of days or so."

"How are your grades?" Olivia repeated, noticing her nervousness.

"I think they will be fine." Karen said cautiously. "I struggled over my math and science GEs, but at least I got them out of the way."

"Struggled as in pulled out with a disappointing grade? Or struggled as in actually struggled." Olivia looked over when she stopped at a red light.

"I don't know." Karen said honestly. "But it's fine. I'll figure it out."

"Then how was the rest of college?" Olivia changed the subject, realizing that it was a sore subject. "What do the twenty somethings do now a days to blow off steam?"

"You are a twenty something…" Karen reminded.

"Fine. Then what do the twenty-something without responsibilities?"

"I usually frequent Greenwich Village for some bars and to see bands play."

"Sounds exciting." Olivia noted. "Do you still go out with your roommate? What was her name, Jenna?"

"No, she ended up rushing. She's a Zeta now, and that's her style."

"So you two aren't friends?"

"Not really." Karen shrugged. "But we live together just fine. She's always with her sorority sisters, so I barely see her."

"As long as you find your niche. That is all that matters."

/

"Your dad isn't home yet. One of the OBGYNs is MIA, so he has to fill in longer than he planned."

"No worries." Karen came in and took a seat on the couch. "Alex is…?"

"Asleep, yes." Olivia retrieved her glass of wine from the counter. "It's just me."

"May I?" Karen motioned towards the glass of wine. "I mean, it doesn't have to be your fancy stuff. I'm used to the $4 stuff from the corner store."

"As long as you toss it out the window once your father comes home." Olivia winked, pouring her a glass.

"Thanks." Karen accepted her glass and repositioned herself on the couch. "I really needed this after dinner."

"I'm not going to prod, but you can elaborate if you want." Olivia chuckled, closing her work folders from the table and setting them aside.

"Mom is just very overbearing." She sighed, taking a sizable sip.

"Well, allow me to not be overbearing." Olivia clinked her glass against Karen's. "Tell me about the fun stuff. Or… Whatever you feel comfortable sharing with me."

"I love the city of New York. I feel like it is my home."

"Was it a shock going from the suburbia of Virginia to a concrete jungle?"

"A welcome one." Karen admitted. "I don't think I really realized how much I needed a city like that, but I really clicked in."

"That is good to hear."

"Yeah, I like how New York attracts people from all different walks of life. I mean, you can walk out of a café with $20 appetizers to see a guy who hasn't seen $5 worth of food in three days. There are all of these artists and _visionaries_ that are struggling just to do what they love. It's the diversity that I think I love. I mean Virginia, even D.C. can get so homogenous, and—fake."

"How has your acting gone? I hear you took on a role in a school play."

"Well, it isn't exactly run by NYU. I mean, I tried the whole school play thing. I got a role in a graduate thesis production. I played this bartender at a juke joint where a struggling filmmaker frequented... But it felt so fake. The actual playwright hadn't struggled a day in his life, but he was attempting to capture a bohemian soul. I eventually quit, because I knew it wasn't going anywhere. I mean, what is the point of performing, if it is just for some men in suits deciding if this trust fund baby can have a piece of paper with his name on it." She took a swig of her wine. "So I joined a theatre troupe in the East Village."

"East Village?"

"Yeah. It's a more experimental company. But they let me work part time, and I play the second lead in it. We open in February. The playwright—who is brilliant—is still polishing things, but it's a lateral leadership."

"Lateral leadership?" Olivia raised her eyebrow even further than before. "Fitz still thinks you are acting in NYU plays."

"Look, I haven't told them that I quit yet. Please don't say anything."

"You can't ask me to lie, you know that."

"I'm not asking you to _lie_ , just keep your mouth shut. I'll tell them when I'm ready."

"Or when they show at NYU's theatre department to see your performance in a couple of weeks."

"Please don't judge me." Karen sighed. "I have felt enough from my mom tonight."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to seem condescending." Olivia poured herself another glass. "Tell me about this playwright and his play."

"His name is Marco. He is actually from Queens, but dropped out of Yale his senior year. The play revolves around a revolution in a made up country. It is interesting and provocative, because he incorporates so many concepts from modern uprisings. The alternate universe really allows him to imagine without limits of familiar bureaucracy. I play a photojournalist, dissatisfied with her newspaper company. This is—of course—before newspapers were ruled obsolete. But I'm assigned to a story about a new Morrocan-Mexican fusion restaurant, but I take a wrong turn and end up in the headquarters of the revolution. I become enamored with it, and leave my capitalistic job to join the resistance."

"Sounds very intelligent." Olivia was observing Karen's mannerisms closely. She seemed very different from how she left them. Which wasn't uncommon when people went off to college. I mean, she couldn't deny that Karen had a very privileged life growing up. Being thrust into a bustling city where not everybody went to private school or got new cars on their sixteenth birthday was a guaranteed eye opener.

"The composer for the score also has a band. They only perform with one hour notice, which makes them even more exclusive. To subscribe, you have to text into this number. Then you will get a text like… this." Karen scrolled through her phone. " _Freddie Douglas and 120_ _th_. _Now._ "

"Is that a location?"

"Yeah. So you have nothing to do but get on the subway and go see them. Very mysterious, but I've never seen a show by them that has disappointed."

"Must be very hip." Olivia commented. She was concerned that out of everything Karen was saying, there was no talk of school. But, she knew better than to say anything. Mellie probably spent their dinner together grilling her about her classes and finals. Given Karen's earlier demeanor around the mention of school, she understood why Karen was so glad to talk about something different.

The door opened, and they both turned to see Fitz walking through the door.

"Dad!" Karen set her wine glass behind the arm of the couch and rose to go give him a big bear hug.

"Hey! I didn't expect to see you here." He kissed her forehead, hugging her tighter again. "I'm sorry I couldn't pick you up earlier. Things got hectic at the hospital."

"No worries. I was just catching up with Liv."

"I see that." He went over to kiss Olivia hello. "I also see the empty glass of wine behind the couch. You aren't slick."

"I figured as long as it wasn't shots of vodka, it was an improvement of what goes on in college." Olivia teased, knowing it would make him grimace. "Should I pour you a glass?"

"Thanks, but it's been an exhausting day. I think I should just turn in." He checked his watch. "Karen, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Jerry and I are grabbing lunch, but you can come along too. I'm sure he would be glad to see you."

"I don't want to intrude on your sibling bonding. How about both of you come over for dinner? I'll cook."

"Cool. We'll be here." Karen nodded. "I should be going. Mom expects me to return home tonight."

"It was great catching up with you." Olivia hugged her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

After she left, Fitz collapsed on the couch next to Olivia. She lifted her leg over his lap and unbuttoned the top couple of buttons from his shirt and loosened his tie. "Are you sure that you don't need a drink?"

"I'm fine. Just… Exhausted." He smiled, leaning in to kiss her. "How was Karen?"

"She's great. She seems happy."

"Good." Fitz ran his hand along the small of her back. "I'm sure she is blowing them all away at the NYU theater department. I look forward to hearing her stories tomorrow."

"Let's get you to bed before you pass out on the couch and wake up grumpy." Olivia changed the subject, pulling him up from the couch.

/

Olivia softly massaged Alex's scalp in coconut oil. Alex was hell bent on spending the afternoon playing in the snow at the park across the street, so Olivia let her tire herself out before shuffling her into a warm bath. Fitz was going to be home late again, but he gave her directions to start a crock pot.

"Hey." Fitz walked through the front door, immediately shedding his coat and going over to kiss both of them. "Sorry I'm late. It was accident after accident on the interstate."

"You are here now." Olivia smiled, pulling him back for another kiss.

"I'm sorry that I've had so many late nights this week."

"You don't have to apologize." Olivia ran her fingers along his hair. "I know that you are working hard."

"Did you start the chicken?"

"I followed your directions, but that is all I can promise."

"I have full faith in your culinary skills."

"How about we crack open a bottle of wine early to make it taste better later."

"I like your thinking." He went to go retrieve a bottle. "Karen and Jerry aren't here yet?"

"Probably stuck in traffic too."

"Is there anything I should know before tonight so I'm not blind sighted?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tattoos… Boyfriends… Cocaine addictions?"

"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Olivia rubbed the remaining oil into her hands and wrists. "She got her girlfriend's name tattooed on her arm."

"She has a _girlfriend_?"

"I'm kidding." She laughed. "No girlfriend and no tattoo… At least none that she has told me about."

Karen and Jerry showed up just as they were setting the table. As they sat around the dinner table and ate, Olivia could tell that Jerry knew about Karen's play. Olivia also knew that it went past just the play. Karen was different. She clearly seemed more free and independent. Olivia just wasn't sure if she was making the best decisions. But that wasn't her place, so she just watched as she skirted Fitz's questions about her grades with vague answers.

In the middle of Jerry talking about much harder the commute was now that his girlfriend Anna transferred to Duke, Karen's phone buzzed in her lap.

"Come on, Karen. Put your phone away. You know the rules." Fitz said.

"Sorry." She went to go put it in the kitchen, but stopped halfway as she read the message.

"What is it?" Fitz asked.

"It's nothing." She scrolled her screen. "Just my grades."

"Well?" Fitz grinned. "Let's hear them."

Jerry cleared his throat, taking a sip of his water. Karen turned slowly. "I have an A- in my theater improv class."

"Okay, that is only 2 credit hours. What about the others?"

Karen was silent. Tears sprung to her eyes. She was frozen, her eyes not leaving her phone screen.

"Karen?"

"I, uh…" Her voice shook, and Olivia shared an uncomfortable look with Jerry. "I have a D for Applied Statistics, a D+ for Communication Theory, a C in French Cinema, and an F in Biology."

"Karen, that's not funny."

"I'm sorry my comedic timing isn't better." She grabbed her purse and ran out of the house.

Olivia's phone rang, and she almost cursed out loud at the timing. "I'm sorry, I should take this." She retreated from the table.

"I should go after her." Fitz left to go chase down Karen.

"I guess that leaves me and Alex with the dishes." Jerry sighed as he started to clear the plates.

Olivia shut the door behind her and pressed accept. "Governor, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry it's so late. Well, actually everything is not okay."

"What happened?"

"I would rather not say over the phone."

"Well, then what is the point of calling. You are two states away."

"Actually, I'm in D.C. right now."

"Why aren't you in Raleigh?"

"It's a long story… Look. I'm outside of your office right now."

"Right now?" Olivia cursed under her breath. "I'm in the middle of something, but I will get there as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Olivia."

Olivia hung up and peaked out of the window. Karen was sitting in her car with the door open. Fitz had his hands against the car and she could tell by his body language that he was both freezing and upset. She saw Karen wipe her face before shutting the door and driving off, leaving Fitz bewildered in the street.

Olivia grabbed his coat and went out to see him in the street. "Hey." She held out his coat for him to put on.

"Thanks, but I'm headed inside anyways." He took his coat, but held it at his side.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Olivia walked back with him.

"No."

"Okay." Olivia nodded, respecting his wishes.

"You knew about this." Fitz stopped right before they entered the townhome. "I saw your face at the dinner table. You and Jerry both knew, and I was the punchline of dramatic irony to it all."

"I didn't know it was that bad."

"But you _did_ know." Fitz scoffed.

"I swore that I wouldn't say anything."

"You lied to me."

"I didn't _lie_ to you, come on Fitz."

"I _specifically_ asked if there was anything I needed to know and you didn't tell me."

"It was something that she had to tell you."

"You know what—maybe I am going out." Fitz put his coat on. "I need to talk to Mellie."

Olivia watched helplessly as he ran inside for a moment to grab his keys. After he breezed past her on his way to his car, Olivia went back inside. Jerry was putting the last of the dishes in the sink.

"Thank you for clearing the table." Olivia said, "You didn't have to do that."

"I don't mind." Jerry smiled, drying his hands. "Where did Dad just take off to?"

"He went to go talk to your mother." Olivia went to pull Alex from her high chair. "I just got called into the office, so I'm sorry but I have to go."

"Do you mind if I stay here tonight? I'm sure that my mom's house is about to look like Hiroshima, and Anna's parents are never too happy when I spend the night there." Jerry shifted his weight back and forth. "Plus, I can put Alex to bed, so you don't have to worry about her at the office."

"The guest room is all yours." Olivia handed Alex over to him. "I already gave her a bath, but she probably isn't tired yet. Just stick her in front of the TV for thirty minutes and her pajamas are in the top drawer of her dresser."

"Got it. TV… pajamas… Bed time story?"

"There is a stack of them in her closet. She likes to choose."

"Cool."

"Call me if you need anything. And I mean _anything_."

"I've babysat Anna's little sister enough, I'll ring you if I need anything."

"Thank you."

/

"Daniel." Olivia said as she saw him waiting by the stoop of her office building. "You should have waited in your car, it is freezing outside… I didn't mean to make you wait so long."

"I don't mind." He followed her into the building. "Global warming has left southern winters to be lackluster. It is nice to not feel my nose every now and then."

"So, what is the emergency?" Olivia asked in the elevator up to the office.

"Um, I would rather wait until we are inside the office."

"Of course. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Something stronger?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Well, I'm going to get something for myself." She led him to her office. "Please have a seat, and tell me what is so important."

"It started the other night. I was at a Panther's game with an old friend. We had box seats, and he introduced me to this girl. She said she was working on her MBA at UNC and was visiting her undergrad roommate. I might have thrown back a few too many whiskeys during the fourth quarter. I went back to her place with her, and…" He watched Olivia take a sip from her glass of scotch. "Actually, can I take you up on that drink?"

Olivia poured him a glass and handed it to him. "What happened next?"

"I don't mean to make an excuse for what happened, but I think I might have been drugged. I mean, I've been blackout before, but I've never felt like this. It felt like I was out of my body looking down at it. Which is… ironic. Because this morning I got a text from an encrypted number. She filmed us having sex." He took a big sip. "She has me in HD."

"What exactly did she send you?"

"Screenshots. With a side of blackmail. Pay up $500,000 in three days or these go to Raleigh's News & Observer. Of course, she wants to support local newspapers before the Times and Post swoop in."

Olivia held out her hand. "I need to see them."

"Olivia, please."

"Either let me see them now, or I'll catch them on my morning doorstep in three days." Olivia kept her hand extended.

"This isn't who I am." He sighed handing over his phone. "I'm not this grimy dude partying with women like this."

"Oh my God." Olivia didn't expect the photos to be that explicit.

"Yeah." He sighed, finishing his glass. "I understand if you want to drop me. I mean we haven't even scratched the surface of contacting potential donors and we already have an iceberg to tank this."

"We aren't going to drop you." Olivia said, quickly turning away from his cellphone screen. "Come on, Daniel, this is what we do."

"So you can make it go away?"

Olivia took a seat across from him. "Well that is up to you. You will have to pay her off."

"I don't have that kind of cash."

"I don't think that we can spin it if these pictures get released this early. It would be a nail to a coffin that we are only just now starting to climb out of."

"Well fuck." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I guess I'm over."

"Are you sure that you don't have that money?"

"I never felt comfortable with money before. Any large salary I get from the Governor's position, I give back."

"Right, right." Olivia refilled their glasses.

"Where is the rest of your team?"

"I didn't want to call them in, unless I knew how to use them."

"So what should we do?"

"If you can't pay… Then we will still fight this. Chances are that she is just an indebted college student trying to make ends meet. In that case, we could offer a lower pay off while bringing down the hammer of extortion cases. But there is also the chance that she is hired by a competitor."

"What do you mean?"

"We haven't gone public yet, but there is buzz. Many powerful people know of our intent."

"So who could it be?"

"It could be anyone. Republicans who want to set up a weak party for their winning. Democrats who want to off the competition before you become too much of a threat. Because it is so early, we don't even know who is involved yet."

"What do we do?"

"I will put my team's full force behind this. I will try to get Huck on breaking the encryption. Abbey and Quinn will scout out for people who have under the table shown interest in the election. Marcus will review the legality of extortion and also the possibility of payment."

"What should I do?"

"Go get some sleep. Come back here tomorrow morning at nine. We will go from there. I've kind of had a long night myself, and I don't see what else we can do until the morning. Where are you staying?"

"Just across the street. At an Airbnb."

Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"I panicked before I came here. I didn't want anybody to catch wind of me being in town."

"Well my step son is currently watching my daughter, and I don't know how much I trust him with her bed time stories. I'll see you tomorrow."

Olivia wasn't sure if Fitz would be home, but her question was answered when his car pulled up right behind her.

"Hey." Olivia said once he left this car. "Did you talk to Mellie?"

"Yeah… We had a lengthy conversation about Karen." He sighed, his breath visible through the streetlight. "Where were you? And where is Alex?"

"A work emergency. Jerry offered to put Alex to bed in exchange for the guest room. I don't think that he wanted to enter in on the nuclear bomb that was exploding at Mellie's."

"He is good with Alex." He began to walk into their home.

"Oh, so you guys are back." Jerry rose from the couch. "I put Alex down thirty minutes ago, but she is probably still awake. I can still take the guest bed, right?"

"Of course." Fitz said as Jerry disappeared upstairs.

"Do you want to talk about Mellie's?" Olivia asked, once they were alone.

"I'm good."

"Fitz—"

"I'm tired." He set his keys on the counter and sighed to himself. "You can sleep with me in the bed… or downstairs. In the basement. I don't care."

Olivia stopped dead in her tracks. He had never banned her to the couch like that before. Tears sprung to her eyes but in indignation, but she knew that she couldn't stand in the kitchen and let her emotions win like that. She went to check up on Alex, kissing her goodnight, and making her promise to close her eyes and try to sleep. When she turned around to leave, she saw Fitz in the doorway. She rolled her eyes and breezed past him.

"Liv…" He put his hand out to catch her arm, but she moved out of his way.

"Don't worry. I'm just grabbing my pajamas." She mumbled as she went into their bedroom. "I might not see you in the morning. I have a busy day. I hope you can get Alex ready for day care."

"Yeah." He sighed as he went to go shower.

/

The next morning, Olivia had a mild hangover from the night before, but she had motivation for getting out of the house before she ran into Fitz. She was in the office by 7:30, and was surprised to see Daniel show up by 8.

"I told you to get here at 9."

"Yeah, well, I didn't get much sleep in the guest room I was staying in. I really want this to be settled and put behind me, so why not be the over achiever and show up early?"

"Well you aren't going to like what I'm about to do." She sighed as she grabbed the tape off of her desk and walked into the conference room. She taped the screenshots of him and the girl to the wall.

"Ouch. I must say that those are flattering, but also humiliating."

"Don't take it personal. We do this with all of our clients."

"Couldn't you put, like, black squares over parts of these?"

"I'm sorry that my Photoshop skills aren't up to par."

"Come on…" Daniel reached for the final photo from her hand. "I think that your team will get the picture from the ones already on display."

Olivia dodged his advantages, holding the photo high from his reach. "I'm sorry, but I have to. If I was in your shoes, my worst would be on this wall too."

He reached for the photo again, extending his arm along her hip, but she was quicker, hiding it behind her back.

"You are here early." Abbey said as she walked in.

"Uh, yeah." Olivia cleared her throat and took a step back. She taped the final picture on the board. "But we have a situation."

"I can see that— _woah_. Okay, it is a little early for pornography." Abbey winced at the pictures on the wall. "Hey Daniel."

"Hi." He grimaced.

"Where is everybody else?"

"Should be arriving soon." Abbey glanced at the wall again. "Oh, God, I need some coffee before I see the next president's dick in my face."

" _Abbey_."

" _Coffee_."

"I started a pot in the break room."

"Thanks." Abbey made a beeline for the break room.

"I guess there is no easy way around this." Daniel sighed.

"Just get through this morning, and it will get better." Olivia patted him on the arm. "I promise."

Abbey hung out in the break room until the rest of the team arrived.

"So…" Olivia began as everybody was confused and settled at the conference table. "We have a crisis."

"I'll say that." Marcus commented, trying not to make eye contact with the wall.

"As hard as it is to look at these photos, this is our reality. Salas got a little too drunk and non-consensually drugged. The girl filmed a sex tape."

Huck glanced down at his nail beds.

"So… This is where we go from here." Olivia took a deep breath. "We need to find out who this girl is. We need to discern whether she is working for herself, and agency, or—"

"An agency?" Daniel asked.

"For call girls… Or, for an opposition party." Olivia walked over to him. "Give your phone to Huck, he will try to de-encrypt the phone number. Abbey and Quinn—search for this girl. She told him that she was getting her MBA from UNC, but who knows if that is true. I want every strawberry blonde within the state of North Carolina with a birthmark on her right hip screened. If that doesn't work, extend your search to D.C., New York, and LA if that doesn't come up with anything."

"And you?" Daniel asked as everybody else left to get to their work.

"I'm going to work potential opposition." She said. "I have some connections, I'm sure I can weasel some response out of them."

"Then what do I do?"

"I don't know." Olivia admitted. "Get your finances in order. Call your accountant. Just in case we have to pay her off."

"I, uh…" Daniel Salas chuckled, embarrassed. "I don't have a personal accountant."

"Then call your bank."

"In the meantime, can I hang out here? I mean it's not like I have a hotel room, and I'm still trying to lay low in the city."

"Sure." Olivia admitted. "You will get a front row seat to watching me work my magic."

"I look forward to it."

/

Olivia was in the middle of a phone call with another dead end. She had a close list of contacts that remained neutral in any political squabble and always were in the know. Nobody knew of anything. In fact, they were all aware of her client, Salas, but did not know of anybody else making moves this early. Daniel was on the phone with his bank for a better half of the morning, but had just gone out to grab everybody lunch.

She glanced over to see Karen coming into her office, distraught. She watched from her office as Karen tilted her head and squinted through the conference room to the pictures on the wall. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Let me know if anything comes to your attention." She hung up briskly and went to greet Karen.

"Olivia! Hey. Um, what is _that_ —"

" _Nothing_. Just a normal day here." Olivia quickly rushed her into her office. "Why are you here? You know that I would rather you call beforehand."

"I know, I'm sorry. I just don't know where else to go." She sighed deeply. "My mom is working from home today, and I don't have a key to your house."

"Look, I don't want to get involved in this." Olivia admitted. With things on the rocks between her and Fitz, she knew that Karen confiding more confidential information with her was not a good idea.

"I know, and I'm sorry about last night. That was clearly not the way I wanted it to happen. But you are the only person I can talk to. You are the only one who won't judge me, and I _really_ need some advice right now."

"Okay then." Olivia motioned for her to sit. "What's up?"

"So basically, after I left Dad came out to stop me. It was a lot of talk about how disappointed he was in me. He said some stuff about how I should have reached out for help during the semester. But I left and went home. He called Mom before I could make it home, and by the time she was done yelling at me, he arrived too. They kind of threw down the gauntlet and threatened to pull me out of school and NYC. I think that their exact words were, 'community college and a job might teach me some responsibility.'"

Olivia didn't say anything, but took a seat across from her.

"Well? Aren't they being ridiculous?"

"I didn't realize your GPA was so low."

"So you are taking their side."

"I'm not taking any side here. But they are your parents, and I can't get in the middle of this."

"They just don't understand me."

Olivia saw Daniel walking through the office with his arms full of food. "Excuse me."

"Who is that?" He asked as he saw the young, distressed girl in her office.

"My step daughter. Could you take those pictures down from the wall? I'll be out in a second to eat."

"You don' have to ask me twice." He said as he immediately took to tearing down the pictures.

"Sorry about that." Olivia said as she returned to Karen.

"I that the dude from those pictures?" Karen asked.

"You never saw any pictures." Olivia defended. "Do you want to go back to NYU?"

"I don't know." Karen admitted. "But I don't want to leave my life there. I mean, I feel like I've really found my niche there. It is who I am, and I don't want to return to Virginia. I think I might go crazy if I have to go back to live with my mom. Like actually certifiably psycho."

"Then what would be your backup?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you don't want to go to school, then you still have to make a living. I don't see your parents agreeing to support you in New York without college being a part of the picture."

"I still have my play."

"Are you getting paid?"

"No… I mean it is purely a love project at this stage. But once we premiere, hopefully it will get picked up, or I will be propelled to other work."

"Karen…" Olivia began cautiously. "I love you, and I want the best for you. But you have to be realistic here. I know that you think that this life is fool proof, but it is also the real world. You will have to support yourself. Even if you drop out of college, you have to deal with a job that doesn't pay for the lifestyle that you are used to."

"What good does a degree do me?"

"A lot more than you think… Do you think that you could survive without your parents? I'm not saying this to be cruel, but they have sacrificed so much to get you where you are. They both put the hours in to graduate college and earn what they earn, which trickles down to you and the opportunities you have."

"Well I'm not them."

Olivia sighed. "Look… I grew up an orphan. I didn't have a safety net like you do. When I was your age, I would have killed to have two parents—as dysfunctional as they can be—like the ones you have. Even if you decide this current path isn't for you, you still need to talk to them. I'm sure that you can work something out. They love you, and want you to be happy."

Before Karen could say anything back, Huck knocked on her door.

"What?"

"We have the girl." Huck said. "I couldn't unencrypt the phone, but Quinn found her in Duke's database."

"I have to get back to work." Olivia said. "But please go home and talk to your parents. This is the hard part."

"Thanks." Karen grabbed her purse and went to leave. Before she could make it out of the door, she gasped. "Oh my God."

"What?" Olivia turned around, thinking that she was already gone. Marcus was halfway through pinning up an ID picture of the girl from the video.

"That's Anna."

"What?" Olivia asked.

"That girl right there… That's Jerry's girlfriend."

"Anna Barfield." Huck said.

"Yeah! Wait… Why do you have her picture?"

"This is private, Karen, pretend you didn't see this." Olivia said, ready to usher her out of the door.

"No way. If that is Jerry's girlfriend, and she is involved in some kind of scandal, I need to know."

"We have this handled." Olivia said definitively. The last thing she wanted to do was mix her personal crisis with her professional one.

"Come on, Liv. She might be able to help." Quinn argued.

"Fine." Olivia said after a moment of thought. "What do you know about her?"

"Her and Jerry have been dating since, like, 8th grade. She went to Virginia Tech before transferring to Duke for their Poli Sci program. Jerry wasn't happy about it at first, but they have managed to make it work." Karen shrugged. "Wait, was she in those pictures?" Karen accused, looking to Daniel.

He clammed up, looking down at his hands.

" _Gross_. She's like barely 21."

"Karen, please. This is my office. We don't judge."

"Sorry." Karen apologized.

"I just hacked into her bank statements." Huck said, silently drilling away at his computer.

"You can do that?" Karen asked, but then was silenced by a look from Olivia.

"Turns out that this isn't the first big deposit she's received. Multiple deposits over the past year have been transacted. Nothing under $5,000, but certainly nothing as big as what she wants."

"Let me see that." Olivia looked at his screen. "Some of these are days apart. This must be a business for her."

"But why does she want so much from me? I'm not a flashy guy, I don't exactly give the impression of flowing wealth."

"If she's a Poli Sci major, then maybe she is studying you. She could have planned this for a while. It wouldn't take much for her to guess that you are running for president."

"So she thought that by setting my up with a grand blackmail, I would pay off before ruining my chance." He pressed two fingers to his temple, rubbing it in a circular motion.

"Karen, is she in town?"

"I don't know. We were never close. She kind of gave me bitchy vibes. But Jerry did say that he came from her house yesterday before lunch."

"She should call her to meet up. Say that it is something important about Jerry. Then we can blind sight her and scare her into deleting the pictures." Abbey offered.

"No, I don't want to involve Karen in this. We can find something else."

"I don't mind." Karen offered. "And I swear that I won't tell anyone."

Olivia debated for a moment, her mind racing at a thousand miles per hour.

"It is the least I can do after you kept my secrets. I swear I will do just as you say."

"Fine." Olivia gave in. "Text her right now. Tell her you want to meet at a restaurant. Halfway through your meal, you will go to the bathroom, and we will swoop in. She's only 21, so chances are that we can scare her into deleting the files."

/

"I can see your mind debating if you made the right decision. It is whirling so fast that you look like you are about to explode."

"This is Fitz's daughter. My step daughter. If this goes south—if he finds out that I used her for a scheme, then he would never forgive me."

"You aren't using her, she volunteered to help. Hell, practically insisted." Abbey argued. "Hold on, she's going to the bathroom. This is your move."

"Hell no. She knows who I am. We talked about this. You are going to talk to her."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Besides, you love the intimidation game."

"True." Abbey straightened up her posture. "I'll signal you if it comes to plan B."

"Good luck."

Olivia watched as Abbey went and took Karen's seat. Anna was initially surprised, but recovered. Olivia honestly enjoyed watching their body language. Abbey was having too much fun with her. It went on for longer than she expected. Finally, Abbey gave Olivia a casual hair flip, signaling her over.

"Hey, Anna." Olivia pulled up a chair.

"Wait… Olivia?"

"It has been too long, I must say. We missed you at Thanksgivings." Olivia rarely encountered Anna, because Jerry stopped bringing her around as much once they were in college.

"What is this?"

"Look, we've tried to play nice. Since you don't want our $5,000, I guess that we will have to take another route."

"What do you mean?"

"I've got some close DCPD friends enjoying bagels across the street. I would love for them to come over and have a conversation with you about how _extortion_ is a felon. If that happened, I wouldn't even have to tell Jerry, he would just read it in the morning paper."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I'm very protective of my family."

"Fine…" She reached for the envelope that Abbey had on the table.

"Sign this non-disclosure agreement first." Olivia slid the pamphlet in front of the envelope. "We could confiscate your devices and sweep them for the file… Although the repercussions of you breaking this agreement are serious enough, it is safer for you to do it yourself."

She signed the document and took the envelope. She opened her phone and showed them that she was deleting the video.

"Oh, and if you ever step near Jerry, I will tell him." Olivia said with a smile. "Now, if you don't mind, I hear that their omelets here are divine. Abbey, it is still brunch, right?"

"Yep. Bottomless mimosas."

"You can see yourself out." Olivia smiled sweetly at Anna, who stumbled over getting her purse and leaving.

"You totally love the intimidation game." Abbey said.

Karen returned from the bathroom. "Well? Is it done?"

"You did great." Olivia rose. "You can stay and eat. I'll cover the tab. Consider it payment for your work."

/

"Hey, Fitz." Olivia said as she came home to see him and Alex playing on the floor.

"Hi." He made no move to greet her with a kiss like he always did.

"Thank you for taking Alex this morning. I had a work situation."

"Sure."

Olivia sighed, going to sit on the carpet with them. She greeted Alex hello, before turning to Fitz. "Can we talk about last night?"

"Later…" He got up from the floor, going over to his cell phone. "I was thinking about ordering food. I'm too tired to cook or go out. Is Chinese good?"

"Chinese is perfect." Olivia said, worried about his behavior. He was obviously stressed about Karen, but she didn't know how to ask him about it. She was a part of the problem, at least in his eyes. So they just pretended nothing was wrong and sat through an uncomfortably silent dinner.

"Are you ready to talk about what happened last night?" Olivia asked, once they left Alex tucked into her bed.

"I guess." He sighed, unbuttoning his shirt.

"I didn't realize that Karen's grades were that bad. She told me that she was struggling, but it didn't seem like a GPA anywhere near as low. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to lie. I just promised Karen that I wouldn't say anything."

"I'm not mad at you." Fitz said as he pulled a t shirt over his head.

"So I can sleep in the bed tonight?" Olivia joked lightly, plopping down on the comforter.

"I don't know what to do." Fitz sat on the corner of the bed and held his head in his hands. "I mean, I don't understand how it got like this. She never made lower than a B+ in high school. She is acting so strange now, like she doesn't care about anything. I don't want to pull her out of school, but she has to learn some responsibility."

"I wish I had an easy fix to this." Olivia crawled across the bed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Karen came by my office today, because she was upset about all of this. I think that more than anything, she is scared. Make sure that she knows that you love her and any decision you make is because of that."

Fitz kissed her wrist and sighed. "Alex better not put me through something like this in sixteen years, because I don't want to have to go through this again."

"You will make the right decision." Olivia kissed his cheek. "That's what makes you such a good father."

"I don't know any more." He mumbled.

"Hey, come here." Olivia leaned back against the pillows and pulled him to her side. "We have the entire holiday to get this sorted out. Do you want to talk about it? Or do you want to just lay here in silence."

"I kind of like the laying here option." Fitz admitted, laying his head against her shoulder.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

/

"I'm on my way, I swear." Olivia adjusted Alex on her hip as she juggled her, the keys to the office, and her phone. "I forgot Jerry's gift in my office, I'm just picking it up real quick. I'll see you very soon." She pocketed her phone. It was 6pm on Christmas Eve, and Olivia was about to be late to Christmas Eve dinner at Mellie's with everybody. The next morning, Karen and Jerry would come over for lunch after spending Christmas morning with Mellie. It was a whole process, but Olivia didn't mind. As long as everybody got to spend time with each other she was happy and so was Fitz.

"Woah, what is going on here?" She stopped when she saw her entire team at the conference room table with a bottle of vodka in the middle.

"It's Christmas eve."

"So… Why are you here?"

"On Christmas we drink vodka and get gloriously drunk together."

"Right…" Olivia chuckled, setting Alex down. She had completely forgotten about how the tradition started their first year as a firm. They had a case with the Russian ambassador that lasted way too long and caused them to cancel any Christmas Eve plans that they had. They did, however, receive a nice bottle of Vodka from him, which they immediately cracked open. Olivia simply forgot they still did this. The last three years, she was either pregnant with Alex or with Fitz. "Abbey, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with David?"

"I'm going there after this. He understands."

Olivia nodded, going into her office to retrieve a glass.

"Don't you have plans?" Quinn asked. They all looked at her in surprise, except for Huck who slid the bottle over to her.

"I can stay for one drink." Olivia winked, taking a sip. "Oh, god." She coughed. "Why did we ever make it a thing to drink straight vodka?"

"Since we received a $200 dollar of vodka from a Russian ambassador on Christmas Eve where every corner store was closed." Abbey reminded.

"Right." Olivia nodded, taking a seat. Everyone sat there in silence. "Well, what do you guys talk about when I am not around? And please don't say _work_."

"We usually don't start conversation until round 4." Huck said.

"I would love to stay for round four, but I have a dinner to get to." She went to finish the glass, still coughing at the burn.

"Watching you drink a vodka neat is the only Christmas gift I need." Marcus laughed.

"Then I can take your Christmas bonus back?" Olivia shot back.

"You should have seen her in college taking shots." Abbey said.

"You didn't even know me until law school, Abbey."

"Technically that is still college, and there were definitely shots involved."

" _Okay_ , Alex." Olivia ignored her. "Let's go stuff our bellies with ham and not hear about Mommy's life before you arrived."

"Merry Christmas." They all said.

"Merry Christmas." Olivia called back, retrieving the gift from her office and making her way to Mellie's house.

She prepared herself for the ticking time bomb at Mellie's in the car. Ever since Karen's big fall out, nothing really happened. Everyone was on egg shells around one another. Fitz and Mellie hadn't decided how to proceed with Karen, but before they knew it, it was Christmas Eve. Olivia was always generally uncomfortable at dinners like these, but she knew that everybody else was just as uncomfortable tonight with Karen's situation. Jerry was also even more quiet than usual, considering that Anna broke up with him immediately after her brunch with Karen. Not that he told even Fitz about any of it.

So the dinner conversation was careful and polite. They avoided the topics of school and personal life, and focused more on general topics. Afterwards, Fitz came up behind Olivia to kiss her on the neck as she was washing some of the dishes.

"Mellie and I are about to have our talk with Karen."

"Good luck. I'll be in here if you need me."

"Thanks." He kissed her shoulder before going into the living room, where Mellie and Karen were waiting. He took a seat next to Mellie across from Karen.

"Your father and I are very concerned with your grades. It has caused us to reflect on whether NYU is a worthy investment in your future."

"It would be a different if you were honest and reached out for help." Fitz said. "There is nothing wrong with admitting that you are overwhelmed or need some help."

"So we are giving you two options. Come home, live here, go to a community college, and reassess your options at the end of the next semester."

"I really don't want to leave the city." Karen said, her voice trembling.

"Which leaves option two. Go back to NYU. You are on academic probation with the university, which means that you are required to get your GPA up or else expulsion is a step that _they_ will take. In addition to that, we will be closely monitoring your grades. Every assignment you get back will be reported to us. We will unexpectedly visit you in the city to make sure that you are making good decisions. If you fail to meet our criteria, then it will be an immediate return with no questions asked."

"So it's like I'm 12 again." Karen sighed. "How long would that go on?"

"Until you prove that you can handle being a responsible person." Mellie said solemnly.

"You don't have to decide right now. I know that this is a huge ultimatum, but the deadline for registration at NOVA community college is January 4th."

"Another stipulation of staying at NYU is to quit this play you are doing in the East village." Mellie said.

"What, mom? No way!" Karen protested. "I made a commitment."

"You made a commitment to NYU _and_ us first. Clearly you can't handle both." Mellie said firmly.

"We open in two months! They can't just hire a new actress, it will set them back by months."

"That is not your problem." Fitz said. "There will be more plays like this in your future. It isn't the end of the world."

"And what if I don't like either option?" Karen asked.

"Then you choose one anyways and live with it." Mellie said harshly.

Karen wiped a tear from her cheek.

"I've got some presents I still need to wrap." Mellie rose and quickly made her exit. "Let us know what you decide."

Karen made eye contact with Fitz and immediately burst into more tears.

"Come here." Fitz stood up, pulling her into a hug. She cried into his shoulder for a good minute or so before pulling back.

"I'm tired, and clearly have some thinking to do." Karen whispered, barely able to speak. "I'll see you soon."

"Goodnight." Fitz kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"Thanks." Karen left to go upstairs to her room.

Fitz found Olivia in the kitchen, washing her last dish. Looking at the state of the dish, he could tell that it was clean minutes ago, she just didn't know what else to do with her hands.

"I think it is clean." Fitz kissed her temple and took the dish from her, putting it in the drying rack.

"How did it go?" Olivia turned to face him, leaning against the counter.

"As well as it could have gone, I guess."

"Did she choose?"

"No, not yet. But I think this was a good wake up call for her."

"It is getting late." Olivia rubbed her hand along his arm. "Why don't we go home, light some cinnamon candles, pour some hot chocolate, and light a fire?"

"Nothing sounds better." Fitz smiled.

So they went home, doing all of the things they listed. They read _Twas the Night Before Christmas_ to Alex and stuffed themselves on cookies and milk. They tucked Alex in, instilling the fear of Santa Claus in her. Olivia didn't realize how stressful keeping the façade of Santa was, especially now that Alex was getting older to really understand the concept.

"Let's go ahead and put the presents out so that we don't have to worry about getting up early." Olivia already had a few under her arm.

"If it is anything like last year, she will be the one waking us up. I still don't know how she got out of her crib that young."

"She is very determined when she wants to be." Olivia laughed. "I can't believe that she is almost three."

"That means that we are almost at our three year anniversary."

"The two best things that ever happened to me." Olivia said softly. She didn't protest when he pulled her from her position of bending down to place presents to collapsing on the couch with him. "We still have presents to place."

"We still have all night."

"Touché." Olivia smirked, giving in to his kisses along her neck. "I guess that we can't lose our tradition of Christmas sex."

"Christmas is nothing without tradition." He smirked, sliding them to the lush carpet in front of the tree.

/

"I've made a decision." Karen said, taking a seat at the counter in the kitchen.

"And?"

"Living in New York City has been one of the greatest decisions of my life. I don't want to throw that away. It is where all of my friends are, and it is where I feel like I can actually be the actress that I want. I will take on as many tutors as you want and get my grades up."

"I'm glad to hear that. Did you tell your mom?"

"This morning." She nodded.

"I'm proud of you." Fitz hugged her.

"I have to go deliver a present to one of my high school friends. I should go. Thanks for a great Christmas lunch, and spoiling me as per usual." She winked, grabbing her coat. "I'll see you around."

"Merry Christmas." Karen left, and Fitz saw Olivia pass by with a stack of newspapers. "What is that?"

"Alex is clawing at her new paint set. I was going to spread these out so that we could paint with her in front of the tree."

"Sounds messy." He winked.

"It always is with her." Olivia stole a kiss, unloading the papers into his arms. "Go spread these out and I'll start some popcorn."

By the time she had a steaming bowl of popcorn, Fitz and Alex were already well into finger painting. Except that instead of using the canvas that came with the box, Alex took to painting their skin. Fitz painted purple cat whiskers on her cheeks, and she smudged a cartoonish moustache on him with her pudgy fingertips.

"So much for not making a mess…" Olivia smiled at the uncontainable laughter coming from Alex.

"Alex, what should we paint on Mommy?" Fitz asked, just to get a response of more giggles. "A unibrow? A hand turkey across her forehead?"

"I swear to God…" Olivia cautiously sat down a seemingly safe distance from them, but Fitz was too quick, dragging her across the carpet and pinning her down.

" _Quick_ , Alex, get her."

"No!" Olivia protested as Alex dipped her fingers into the paint and began to smear the colors across Olivia's face. "I can't believe that you two are teaming up against me like this."

"All is fair in love and war." Fitz whispered, leaning down to kiss her. When he pulled back, it was Olivia's turn to laugh at the paint from her face that spread to his.

"You look good with a rainbow beard." Olivia smiled kissing him again. Her phone buzzed, making her reach into her pocket with her clean hand and pull the phone to her ear. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, everything is fine. I mean, I guess you would expect me to have a problem, because it seems like that is all I call you for anymore." Daniel Salas took a deep breath, "I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. You and your team have been putting in overtime for me, so I wanted to wish you a happy holidays."

"Thank you, and the same to you." Olivia scooted a safe distance from Alex and Fitz so she did not disrupt their paint war.

"Well, you must be spending time with your family, and I don't want to take any more of your time—"

"Alex, no." Fitz quickly intercepted her from raising two fistfuls of paint to the puffs on top of her head. "You are too young to dye your hair crazy colors."

Alex giggled, trying to lick some of the paint.

"Yeah, I should actually go." Olivia smiled at the sight of Fitz trying to restrain Alex in every way from eating the paint or getting it in her hair. "Alex is trying to go Van Gogh with her new paint set."

"I'll let you go tend to her artistic liberties then." Daniel laughed on the other end. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Olivia hung up and turned to Fitz and Alex. "I think this might call for more newspapers."

"And some of my old T shirts. This might turn into war soon."

"I'm on it." Olivia went to go retrieve more newspapers from their recycling ben and some of his old t shirts. She returned with enough print journalism and ruinable clothes to wage world war 3.

"Who was that on the phone?" Fitz asked as he slipped a t shirt on.

"Daniel." Olivia helped Alex into paint-ruinable clothes.

"Daniel?"

"Salas. The North Carolina governor." Olivia explained.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I've just never heard you call him by his first name before."

"He sends his Merry Christmas wishes to you too." Olivia reached in to kiss him, but ambushed him instead with a slash of green across his cheek.

"You are going to pay for that." He growled, pinning her down to the pile of newspapers. "Alex, get her!"

Alex pounced, taking dripping fingers of paint to whatever spare bit of Olivia she could find.

"This is so unfair!" Olivia protested as Alex danced her fingers up Olivia's bare arm. "Attack Daddy. Get him! He's the bad guy."

Alex quickly showed her alliance with her mother by turning on Fitz and assaulting him with smudgy fingers.

"Oh, I see how it is." Fitz laughed, lifting Alex up in the air, making her squeal. Paint was getting everywhere, but Olivia couldn't help but love how their Christmases ended up. It was messy, yes, but the unaltered love between the three of them was enough to fill her with the Christmas spirit.


	19. Chapter 19

"What is on your to do list today?" Fitz asked as Olivia landed in his lap. He was just finishing his morning orange juice and paper.

"Just normal campaign operations. Seducing powerful donors. Kissing millionaires' ass cheeks."

"Seducing?"

"It's a phrase, honey. Relax." She kissed his lips and ruffled his hair. "There is only one lap I'm choosing to sit on this morning."

"But who could resist you?" He joked, leaning in further for a second kiss. "You are leaving me in this hotel room like a kept man?"

"You have lunch with Karen. I'm sure that making sure she keeps the straight and narrow will occupy enough of your time."

"That makes me feel so much better about some Armani suited asshole assaulting you for some donation."

"I can only allow one person to assault me at one time." Olivia murmured at the way he felt up her skirt. "And you clearly dominate that role."

"Alright, then." He kissed her cheek and slid her off of his lap on his way to the shower. "I'll see you tonight."

"Not so fast." She drew him back to her again.

"You are going to be late."

"I find that being fashionably late is enough to whet their curiosity." She winked, smoothing out his ruffled hair. "Have a great day."

"Ditto to you." He kissed her softly. He wanted to pin her to the king sized bed and meticulously tear her clothes off of her, but he knew that she actually had a big day in front of her. Money was not something to mess around with when it came to presidential campaigns. She had to perform her best to make this NYC trip a success.

"I should actually go." Olivia murmured against his lips, but made no move to leave his arms.

"You probably should." Fitz reluctantly pulled back. "But first…" He reached for the buttons on her shirt, but to her dismay he buttoned one more button. "You can't be giving them the wrong impression out here."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "I'm a pro at this. This isn't my first presidential election."

"Go get 'em tiger." He swatted her ass playfully.

"I will." She grabbed her purse and made it out onto the street to hail a taxi. They arrived the night before, but today was when the real work started. She had the entire weekend to get as many financial backers on Salas's side. But without fully revealing his intention to run. They wouldn't announce for another 4 months. But the problem of a down-to-earth candidate was that the big fish have no idea who he is. This was more of a coming out to society trip for Salas. The first target on her list was a real estate mogul on the Upper East Side that proved to be a generous donor in her first campaign. She prepared herself mentally—unbuttoning that button—as her cab pulled up to the sleek, looming skyscraper of Clemens Inc.

"I'm here to see Mr. Clemens." She told his secretary. She tried not to form judgment, but she had spent too much time around slick haired wealthy power moguls to know that there might be a reason why his secretary looked like she was out of an editorial of Vogue.

"Of course." She smiled. "Your name?"

"Olivia Pope-Grant."

"Oh my…" She seemed flustered, typing into her computer. "He has been expecting you. Please go right in."

"Thank you." Olivia entered past the electronically unlocked door to find William Clemens behind his wide oak desk.

"Olivia." He grinned rising from his desk.

"Please, pretend we aren't on a first name basis." Olivia said cautiously as the door closed behind her. She accepted his extended hand, sitting across from him in one of the plush chairs.

"Forgive me, it is so hard to keep up with your last name these days." He took a seat after her. "Did I hear my secretary say 'Grant'?"

"Correct." Olivia smiled.

"Damnit, I missed my window." He flashed a bleached white grin. "Did I do something wrong? I mean, you have a way of making a man feel spurned, then coming around with a new last name."

"Your timing was not ideal, I must say." Olivia resisted the urge to vomit on his plush maroon carpet. "But that is not why I am here."

"Forgive me for thinking that an invitation to dinner could be accepted four years later" He walked over to his liquor cabinet. "A drink?"

"I'm good, thank you." She rejected, mainly because it was barely 9am, and he was not the first visit on her schedule.

"Come on, I have _Le Chateau Moulet_ on reserve." He winked.

"As charming as your knowledge of wine from before I was born is, this is a business visit only."

"Then just a scotch for me." He winked, again. "No hurt in trying."

"What do you know about Daniel Salas?" She dove right in.

"Name rings a bell, but nothing on my radar." He leaned against the desk, close to her.

"Governor of North Carolina."

"The angle?" He shifted his pin stripe pants over to nearly brush against hers.

"He's making moves on the upwards."

He paused for a moment before bursting into laughter. "You have got to be kidding me."

"We are serious. He has charisma, the political morality. He's going to be a big influencer in a couple of years."

"And here I was thinking that your request for a meeting was more pleasure and less work." He took a sip of his scotch, taking in the view of Manhattan from his grand office. "He is a nobody."

"For now." Olivia tried to keep her words as vague as possible. Explicitly saying that he was running for president would spread word around and it was too early for that. It was her job to present Salas as someone to watch. Business moguls like Clemens were always hungry from fresh political meat to help themselves out. "He's someone that doesn't see politics in black and white. He has a history of appealing across the aisle."

"So he's a democrat?"

"Yes." Olivia admitted.

"I am intrigued." He paused. "But why are you here on his behalf?"

"With moving up the political ladder comes bigger fish. I am very connected. I am consulting him."

He crossed around his desk, leaning against it and crossing his ankles. "Thank you for this interesting, new information. I could see this Daniel Salas guy being someone that I might want to look into more."

"That is very good to hear." Olivia rose, extending her hand. "I know that you are a very busy man. You have your hands full with – what is it – the new condos going up on 28th Street? I will let you get back to your work. It was nice visiting with you."

"It's on 5th Ave. And I'm not too busy to catch up a little more." He motioned for her to sit back down.

Olivia did out of politeness.

"I want to hear more about Mr. Salas. I trust your judgment in character. It is one of the many things I admire about you… Amongst other things." His eyes making shameless ventures along her body, making Olivia wish that she had left that last button as Fitz buttoned it.

"I have another appointment on the other side of town."

"I wasn't talking about right now." He chuckled. "Perhaps a dinner with cozier lighting? Preferably in the evening so you would let me impress you with my wine selection?"

"I am only in town for the weekend, and I have a packed schedule."

"How about next week? I have a jet, you know. It goes very fast. It could get you from DC to me in 45 minutes."

"I don't think that a candlelit dinner with a crisis manager and a CEO is good for business. You are just moving past sexual harassment lawsuits, I wouldn't want to draw the spotlight back to you with this new luxury condos going up on 28th street."

"5th Ave." He corrected her again, although they both new that her mistake was intentional. "I was hoping you would suggest something more private. I can cook exceptionally well."

"People like us don't cook."

"Okay, maybe I have a very capable chef. But my personal wine collection is better than any white cloth establishment on this island."

"I think you are mistaken…" Olivia stood up. "I'm married."

"I don't mean to come across the wrong way." He apologized, but Olivia knew better than to believe him. He was a man used to getting his way, and he would do so no matter what shit he had to spin. "I just want to discuss the potential rewards of contributing a man like Salas. Secretary of Labor? Homeland Security? I'm a versatile man. I'm also not picky."

"What makes you think that a North Carolina Governor decides who the Secretary of Labor is?"

"I think we both know who decides the Secretary of Labor." He winked, taking a closer step to her. "So, what do you say?"

"I say that you are getting ahead of yourself. If you want, I can get you and Daniel in a room to discuss this more. Whether that room is this office, a swanky overpriced restaurant, or your personal home, is between you and him." Olivia paused, hooking her purse on her arm and extending her hand. "It was nice to see you again."

"I don't play games. I have too much pressing business to mess around." He shook her hand for too long, making her have to pull her hand back from his grasp. "Dinner or my interest is lost."

"Goodbye, Mr. Clemens." Olivia swiveled sharply on her heel and walked past the secretary. She didn't pull out her phone until she was desceding in the elevator. "Marcus."

"Did you get him?"

"No, it isn't worth it."

"Isn't worth it? His net worth alone could slide us easily through the primaries."

"It's a dead end. He isn't interested in reaching across the aisle."

"You mean like he did in '92 and '96."

"I said it's a dead end."

"Hold on… Abbey is calling in. I'll put you on a three way."

"No, don't put her on the—"

"Marcus! Have you heard any word from Liv? I didn't want to call her in the meeting." Abbey's voice came through the phone.

"You can ask her yourself. She's on the line." Marcus said.

"He's not game. It isn't going to work."

"Liv, what the fuck?" Abbey said.

"My sentiments exactly." Marcus chimed in.

"You need to trust me on this." Olivia began.

"Where are you?" Abbey asked. "Are you leaving his office? Because I'm three blocks away. I can meet you at the MET."

"So you can yell at me in person? I said it isn't going to work. We have a long list of donors, we can find other money."

"What happened?" Marcus asked, earnestly.

"Money like an easy millions deposited with no strings?" Abbey persisted.

"There were strings."

"Like a cabinet position? That type of money warrants some consideration."

"Different strings." Olivia mumbled.

"Like what?" Abbey pressed.

"Like _me_."

The line went silent for a moment. Olivia's elevator opened and she stepped out into lobby. Within seconds, she was walking along the bustling sidewalk with thousands of others.

"What do you mean?" Marcus asked cautiously.

"He wanted a dinner with me."

"What's a dinner?" Marcus asked. "It's a paid for meal. What is the big deal?"

"A dinner with a man like that is never just dinner." Huck's voice came in through the phone.

"Jesus, Marcus. Do you have me on speaker phone?" Olivia asked

"Sorry. They wanted the news too." He didn't sound that sorry.

"Well now that the whole world knows, you understand why I had to decline." She started walking up the street. "Let's look ahead and focus on who we can get."

"I've got an incoming call from the graphic designer for Daniel's slogans. I should take this. Good luck." Marcus hung up.

Olivia was about to tell Abbey not to find her, but it was too late. She saw the locks of red bounding down the sidewalk from two blocks away. She hung up her cell phone and waited for the onslaught of reprimand.

"Here is a breakfast burrito." Abbey said in an expectedly salty tone.

"Thank you." Olivia couldn't deny that the burrito smelled incredibly delicious.

"So why are you trying to ruin this campaign?"

"Here we go." Olivia sighed.

Abbey linked her arm through Olivia's and guided her to the steps of the MET. "Do you understand how much money he could provide? I'm talking about bumper stickers that don't cost $5, but are free to anyone who wants them. That's a major marketing boost on principle."

"I am not going to go on a dinner date with someone who views me as a prize to be won. I don't trust him."

Abbey sat down on the steps of the MET, pulling Olivia down with her. "If my memory serves me correctly, the last time we were running a national campaign, you were a mastermind of going on dinners like this."

"Things have changed."

"How? It's not like you were doing anything back then. You were married to Jake. You were the mastermind of securing the money while leaving a trail of blue balls. How is this any different?"

"It just is." Olivia replied sternly. "Let me make it clear that this election will be run differently than last time. Corners will be left intact and uncut. There will be no shame in how we win. And we will win, because we have an incredible candidate who _deserves_ to be president… So throw out any precedent from the last election out. Things will be different."

"What will you do when the money doesn't flood in?"

"Then we will frame the campaign around a _man of the people_ narrative. Go after these Wall Street assholes for their corruption. It doesn't hurt that our candidate is already a modest person. We can appeal to America's disenchantment with the big money."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Abbey admitted. "As noble as it is, bumper stickers go way further than morality."

"I have another meeting in twenty minutes." Olivia changed the subject. "And as much as I like this _Gossip Girl -_ esquerendezvous on the MET steps, I should be on my way. I'll touch base with you tonight, but I expect you at my hotel room tomorrow morning."

"Try to get some money flowing in." Abbey stood, hugging her goodbye. "As much as I try in these meetings, I don't have your talent of persuasion. Use your talents for the greater good of America."

/

"How was your day?" Fitz greeted Olivia with a kiss on the cheek.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Olivia took his hand in hers as they walked into a classy restaurant not far from their hotel.

"That bad?"

"Not disastrous, just… tiring." Olivia squeezed his arm as the hostess showed them their table. "I'm over it though. How is Karen?"

"She's… good… Surprisingly. I think she might really be getting back on track."

"That's great." Olivia said genuinely. "I wish that I could spend more time with her, but my schedule is so packed."

"She understands." Fitz squeezed her hand across the table. He could tell that she was tired, but something else seemed to bother her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing… Why?"

"You just seem kind of down."

"I guess that the obscenely wealthy just got the best of me today." Olivia said honestly. "I spent my day around narcissistic men and $400 decanters of liquor that were half drunk by noon… I'm just tired, that's it."

Fitz brought her hand to his mouth, kissing her palm. The candlelight ambiance made it seem like they were the only people in the room. "How about we get out of this 5 star restaurant, then? I noticed some dive bars around NYU that had a considerable lack of white table cloths."

"Could we stop at a food truck along the way? I think that I might be in need of some reality right now."

Fitz stood, leading her by the hand. "Follow me."

They practically sprinted past the confused hostess onto the street. Olivia held her hand out to call a taxi.

"What are you doing?"

"We are going to the Lower East Side, right?"

"Yeah, but if you really want reality, then we will have to take the Subway."

"I haven't taken public transportation since law school." Olivia admitted, hooking her arm through his as he began to walk to the nearest stop.

"I haven't taken it since high school." Fitz shrugged.

"That makes me so much more confident." Olivia laughed. "Lead the way, please."

They walked down the stairs to the subway. Olivia noticed how much dirtier it was than D.C.'s metro, but she didn't complain. It was almost welcome. She spent her entire day around the cleanest parts of the city that a little diversity—and adversity—was welcome. When they sat on the train, Fitz protectively put his arm across her crossed legs. She leaned her head against his shoulder. She admittedly had a few drinks with the last few potential donors in an attempt to seem more welcoming. The vibration of the train only heightened her buzz.

"This is our stop." Fitz took her hand, as they walked off of the train and reemerged above the station.

"Toto, I don't think we are in central park anymore." Olivia winked as he led her down the street, confident in the direction he was headed.

"Well, Dorothy, this is our Oz." He motioned towards a bar. It was certainly divey and dimly lit. Fitz ordered their drinks. He refused to let Olivia get wine, explaining that this was not a bar that you order a glass of wine from. So she settled for a jack and coke, and he got one as well.

"What do you think?" he asked, downing his glass in two gulps. He motioned for another.

"I think you might be getting drunk tonight."

"I could tell from the second I saw you tonight that you had a head start." He winked. "I'm just trying to keep up."

Olivia but her lip, waving down the bartender. "Two tequila shots. And another one of these."

"Careful, I don't want to carry you home tonight."

"The shots are for you." Olivia took a sip.

To put it simply, they got drunk together. Olivia felt younger than she had in years. They left Olivia with a trusted babysitter over the weekend, but that didn't stop her from sending frequent check-up texts.

Fitz caught Olivia mid-text. "Alex is fine." He grabbed her phone, pocketing it in his pants.

"I'm a mom. It is my job to worry."

"I think the only thing you should be worrying about is your pool game."

"Are you challenging me?"

"Are you game?"

"I must say I don't think I've played since I was a freshman in undergrad, trying to impress upperclassmen at whatever bar was lax about fake IDs."

"That is something I would pay money to see." Fitz flagged down the bartender. "Another round."

"Now who is trying to get who drunk?" Olivia winked, grabbing her new drink and pulling him to the billiards table.

Olivia's memories of playing in college were much kinder than she would like to admit. After sinking a few cue balls, Fitz took pity on her.

"Here, your form is all wrong. Let me show you how to align right." Olivia didn't protest as he stood behind her, extending his arms along her. He positioned her fingers to support the pool stick. "You are using too much power and not a lot of aim."

"Is that so?" Olivia whispered. He was encompassing all of her personal space, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Visualize the ball going where you want. Don't try to force it, just focus on hitting the cue in the sweet spot. Then the rest will fall through."

Olivia let him guide the stick in her hands to hitting the cue ball to hit a striped ten ball into a pocket. "Look at that." She smirked, not making a move from his arms.

"That is the only freebie you get from me." He whispered in her ear, before pulling back. "The rest is war."

"I'll try my best to keep up." Olivia sunk a few more balls, before missing one. To Fitz's surprise they were tied up with only the eight ball remaining. After a few missed attempts on both of their parts, they agreed to call a truce.

"But someone has to sink it." Fitz reminded.

"We could do it together." Olivia proposed with a devilish grin. "You were so good at guiding me earlier."

"A little too good, apparently… I shouldn't have revealed all of my trade secrets."

Olivia took the stick from him and got in position, waiting for him to follow. He wrapped his arms around her, lining up the shot and waiting for her to pull and release. She did, effortlessly sinking black eight ball into the pocket.

"Were you just holding out on me so that I would wrap my arms around you?" Fitz asked.

"Maybe." Olivia winked, turning in his arms. They both didn't miss the opportunity to lock lips. Just as Olivia became aware that they might be like any other 20-something couple making out in a bar, Fitz's pants vibrated against her thigh. "Are you that happy to see me? Or is that your cell phone."

"I think it might be yours." Fitz pulled her phone out of his pocket, handing it to her.

"I have to take this. I'll be right back." She kissed him briefly, before stepping out of the crowded bar. "Hello?"

"Hey!" Daniel Salas said, cheerily. "I know it's late, but my plane finally got in. I just got settled in my hotel room."

"About time." Olivia tried not to reveal her inebriated state over the phone. "I have a lot to fill you in on. I got mixed reactions today from different potential donors. I can show you my notes."

"Cool. Are you free right now? I know that it is late, but I had a lengthy nap on the plane, and I'm wired. I can't even call it jet lag because I stayed in the same time zone."

"It's only 9." Olivia chuckled. That was late to most people, she realized, but she was also used to unconventional hours. "Are you still staying at the downtown Marriot?"

"Yeah."

"I'll swing by." Olivia hung up. When she reentered the bar, she saw Fitz ordering a water at the bar. A much younger woman came and sat next to him. Her body language was embarrassingly obvious. She watched in curiosity as the mystery woman put her hand on Fitz's arm. She imagined that the conversation involved the woman flirting and making a coy play for Fitz to buy her a drink. Fitz laughed at something she said, but politely took her hand off of his arm. She could tell that he was uncomfortable, trying not to be rude, but also trying to make his intentions clear.

Olivia decided it was her time to intercept the interaction. She went up to Fitz's side, shamelessly kissing him. Out of her periphery, she saw the other woman make her exit with a pissed huff.

"Jealousy makes you hot." He murmured against her lips.

"You rejecting try hard women makes you hot." Olivia accepted the water from the bartender. "Let's get out of here."

"Okay."

"But we are taking a cab. I'm not stepping on that dirty subway again."

"Spoiled." Fitz chuckled, downing his water.

Olivia remembered in the cab that she had told Daniel that she would meet him at his hotel. She sent a quick text saying that she got held up at something. Olivia didn't know if it was her workaholic side or the liquor that made her tell him she would meet him. But as she looked at Fitz in the seat next to her, she knew that there was no one else she would spend her night with.

/

The next morning, Fitz woke up alone in bed. He wasn't surprised to hear Abbey's voice from the living room of their suite. He was surprised, however, to see the makeshift OPA they set up. There were multiple headshots taped along various walls. Olivia set up a dry erase board where they had a spreadsheet full of numbers and facts.

"Good morning, babe." Olivia greeted him with a quick kiss. "There is some coffee on the pot."

"Thanks." He drank his coffee in silence as they worked.

"Wolford is going to be hard." Olivia sighed, tapping his picture. "As hard as he was before, now he's scared about foreign oil and regulations running him dry. Salas isn't conservative enough to assure him anything concrete."

"Well, you got him before." Abbey reminded her. "He has to have a weak spot—an access point."

"We are walking a fine line here. We are still far from announcing, so we don't want to tip our hand too much, but that makes it hard to get tough donors like this."

"How about you take Wolford and I can take the Freemont Foundation people off of your list."

"Deal." Olivia went to refill her coffee.

Abbey's phone rang, and she checked the caller ID. "I have to take this. It's David."

"Of course." Olivia nodded. Abbey left the hotel suite.

"Good morning." Olivia went over to kiss him more fully on the lips. He groaned into her, pulling her onto his lap.

"Good morning." Fitz smiled at her welcome body.

"I'm sorry last night." Olivia said, kissing him again.

"It's fine, really."

"It's embarrassing." Olivia chuckled. After they got back to the hotel, Olivia realized just how drunk she was. While she had different plans for how they would spend their night, Fitz ended up tucking her into bed with a glass of water.

"I'm surprised you are up so early." Fitz chuckled. "And functioning."

"That isn't the first pot of coffee." Olivia admitted. "What are you going to do today? I don't want you to stay holed up in this hotel room when there is an entire city out there to explore. You might go insane just by hearing us talk about these things."

"I think it's kind of hot." He winked, roaming his hand along Olivia's ass.

"Yeah right." Olivia laughed, trying to get up from his lap, but he held her there for a moment longer. "Thank you for coming on this trip. I know I have been really busy. Thank you putting up with me."

"I have a feeling that you will find a way to make up for it."

"Okay…" Olivia blushed as she heard Abbey fumbling with the room key. "I promise that once this night is over, I will be all yours." She stood up, smoothing out her clothes.

"I look forward to it." He rose as Abbey entered the apartment. "I want to catch lunch with an old college friend who lives in Brooklyn. I'll be out in the city today."

"As long as you are back here in a tux by 7, I can't complain." She said, kissing him on the cheek.

After he was gone, Abbey shot Olivia a look.

"What?"

"Y'all totally fuck every second that you guys are alone."

"We didn't fuck, Abbey. Come, on."

"But y'all did something." Abbey chuckled to herself at Olivia's shirt that was untucked.

"Is everything okay with David?" Olivia swiveled on the subject.

"Yeah, he was just freaking out over how to water my plants. I swear despite the fact that he is Attorney General, he is also clueless… and lost without me in D.C."

"You could have brought him along."

"And try to slip off at every opportune moment to fuck like you and Fitz?" Abbey laughed, "I'd rather be the third wheel to _Olitz_ or _Fivia_ —whatever the couple name you guys claim."

"You better not third wheel tonight." Olivia tossed a file onto her lap. "Because you have to be sweeping up these heavy donors. I'm giving you some heavy hitters."

"I know." Abbey flipped through the stack of files on her lap. "The Freemonts with their growing interest in climate change, the Cohens with their fetish for older country music, and Jared Pondathon with his…" She trailed off, scrolling his file.

"Love for Philly sports." Olivia finished her sentence.

"Right… The Eagles have pulled some excitement over their rookie roster. I'm on it." Abbey went to her computer to cultivate the best small talk to impress and pull major dollars from the 1%.

/

"I've missed you all day." Olivia smiled as she straightened Fitz's bow tie. It was already pristine, but she reveled in adjusting it and having him smirk at her interest.

"Says the woman that encouraged me to get lost this morning."

"I am glad that you are here now." She pulled him by his collar down to her to kiss deeply.

"And yet, you are still in a robe." He murmured against her lips.

"I need some help with my zipper." Olivia pulled back, reaching for the garment bag at the foot of their hotel bed. Her hair was fixed in a conservative bun swept low on her neck. Her makeup, too, held a reserved but equally seductive quality. She shed her robe and pulled the gown up her body.

Fitz was behind her in a heartbeat, zipping up the expensive material against her lingerie. "Is that all you need?" He breathed in her ear.

"I will need some help unzipping, but that won't come until later." Olivia winked, starting towards the bathroom to spray her perfume along her wrists.

"One second." Fitz latched on to her hand, pulling her back. He observed her shamelessly, making mental notes of how the navy blue material started conservatively, covering her breasts in a respective matter. Yet, the dress tightly hugged her figure down her thighs and loosened up by the time it hit the floor. "Wow."

"Thank you." She blushed. "Tonight is very important, and it has to go perfect… Which is why I am so thankful that you are here."

"Do you want to keep thanking me? Or do you want to prove it to me." He smirked, lowering his lips to her neck.

"With a line as corny as that, how could I resist?" Olivia laughed, but she pulled back, putting her hand on his chest. "Let's get this over with. The car picked up Daniel ten minutes ago. Abbey is waiting in the lobby. We should probably make our way down."

"Let's get this over with." He repeated after her, grabbing her coat for her.

/

Fitz was used to being the trophy husband at formal events like this. He mastered the supportive spouse that made small talk when necessary, but mostly let Olivia do her work. Yet tonight, he could tell that it was different. Her nerves were through the roof, but it was barely detectable. He just noticed how she was furiously checking her phone in the car and by the time they pulled up to the venue, their tickets were crumpled from her fidgeting.

"Okay." Olivia said to them once the car stopped. "Salas, go first. Then Fitz and I, and then Abbey a few steps behind. Divide and conquer. Keep your phones on vibrate only, in case we need to meet up. No more than two drinks tonight, but always keep a glass half full in your hand."

"Roger that." Salas nodded, tapping on the window to be let out.

Fitz led Olivia inside, through the sea of flashing lights, with his hand steadily on her back. "I need to scout the room and the bar is on the other side." Olivia put her hand in the crook of his arm. "And we both need a drink."

"Two champagnes." Fitz told the bartender once they had crossed the room, accepting the two flutes. Olivia reached for her glass, but he held it back. "I will give this to you once you take a deep breath. I'm talking about a deep ass breath that reminds yourself that you are Olivia fucking Pope-Grant and you are about to kill this."

Olivia smiled, taking a deep breath.

"You could do better than that."

"Fine." Olivia took a breath so deep that Fitz saw it click in her eyes. She was now focused.

"Divide and conquer." He handed her the glass with pride.

/

"Jesus Christ, I'm exhausted." Daniel said as he approached Fitz.

"That makes two of us." Fitz extended his hand.

"Where did Liv go? I need to give her my reports."

"Powder room." Fitz said. "I would pass the news along, but I've met so many billionaires, I can't keep them straight."

"Then can I keep you company with actual normal conversation? I need to recharge my fake laugh and interested head-nod."

"I'd be happy to debate the fact that your Panthers aren't going to get anywhere near to the Super Bowl this year. You guys blew it."

"That's a lot of words for a Redskins fan." Daniel laughed heartily as he raised his glass to his lips.

"Who said I was a Redskins fan? That type of assumptions will get you in trouble as a politician."

"I was raised in California." He chuckled. "And in high school I went through a hard ass LA Raiders stage. I guess it stuck."

"Well it must have been a hell of a drought until y'all actually got some chemistry on the West Coast."

"We do have it now." Fitz nodded. "But I do enjoy watching Cam Newton play. He is something else."

"Hey." Olivia came back from the powder room. "Well?"

"All good." Daniel smiled. "I couldn't get a direct indication from Mrs. Villanueva, but she did like me. I think it could be an option still down the road."

"And everyone else?"

"A sea of vague support with an invisible cloud of super PACs behind them."

"I'm impressed." Olivia clinked her glass against his.

"Have you talked to Abbey?"

"I passed her on my way over here. She still has some work to do, but she didn't want to keep us."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Are you going to ride in the car with us? The driver can drop you off after us."

"I honestly want nothing more than to get out of this tux, so I will take you up on that offer."

In the car, Olivia sat in between Daniel and Fitz. Once they were in the quiet and dark car, Olivia was aware of how exhausted she was. She leaned her head against Fitz's shoulder and intertwined her hand in his.

When the car got to their hotel, they said goodnight to Daniel and made their way into the hotel. In the elevator, Fitz helped Olivia out of her coat. She used the opportunity to take his coat off in the elevator an excuse to press her body against his and run her hands across his chest.

She paused with his coat hallway down his arms. Olivia took advantage of his restrained arms to kiss him. He awkwardly shrugged the coat down to the floor, rushing to wrap his arms around her waist. The elevator dinged to the 18th floor where their room was. Olivia cleared her throat, and Fitz retrieved his coat from the elevator floor.

Olivia stumbled slightly when they got to their hotel room, but Fitz caught her with his arm around her waist.

"These shoes are about to kill me." Olivia mumbled, swiping the key and opening the door.

"You should probably get some sleep." He kissed her temple.

"I don't want to sleep." She kicked her shoes off, gravitating back to him, several inches shorter.

"Don't think I didn't notice you dozing off on my shoulder in the car."

"I am not going to spend our last night in New York drooling on your chest. I promised I would give you my full attention tonight, and I plan on keeping it."

"So you do admit that you drool." Fitz winked, resting his hands on her waist.

"I want to open those giant curtains in our room and I want you to fuck me to the skyline." Olivia whispered, along his jaw. She was on her tip toes to reach.

Fitz used all of his restraint to slowly unzip her dress. The way her lips were softly making work of his neck made him want to rip the expensive fabric off, but he was careful. Once the dress was loose, he slid it down her body, helping her step out of it. As he cautiously set the dress over the back of a chair, Olivia opened the curtains and leaned against the cool glass. She was wearing the sexiest lingerie set, as if he didn't see it hours earlier when he helped her get ready. He was soon at her side, releasing any ounce of self-control.

Olivia could barely concentrate enough to undo his bow tie as he lifted her up, pinning her to the glass. He was supporting her by her hips, aggressively devouring her neck and sternum. "Fitz?" Olivia asked, unwrapping her legs from his waist.

"What? What's wrong?" He pulled back concerned.

"Nothing." Olivia chuckled. "It's just that I need to get you out of this tux, and if you don't let me, I might resort to tearing."

"I'm the only one allowed to rip clothes." He smirked, letting her undo his buttons.

"Which…" Olivia let him distract her with a languid kiss before getting back to unbuttoning his shirt. " _Will not_ happen tonight. I like this set too much."

"We'll see about that." Fitz bit her neck, aggressively undoing the fastens on the back of her bra.

/

 **4 MONTHS LATER**

"I just put Alex down for her nap. She didn't eat much for lunch so she will probably be really hungry when she wakes up. There are some chicken nuggets in the freezer that take 15 minutes to make. She loves those."

"Noted." Fitz said, engrossed in the papers in front of him.

"What are you working on?" Olivia sat on the arm of his chair, kissing his hair.

"Maybe you could help me with this." Fitz kissed the palm of her hand, pulling her into his lap. "There is this new technology coming out that I really think could save lives. It can predict any complications that might arise in labor ahead of time so that we can prepare the mother for it and make sure that the fetus is getting the correct nutrition. We simply just don't have the funding for it."

Olivia flipped through some of his papers. "Is it replacing current technology that you have? Or is this a completely new addition to the department."

"It would be replacing several different machines that have different functions."

Olivia nodded, glancing through the figures. "I don't know anything about this, but what if you shaved off any extra machines that this replaced and sold them to hospitals with even lower budgets. I'm sure that they would love discounted equipment. Then you could take that money and lobby the CFO of the hospital for the rest to cover the new technology."

"That could actually work." He nodded, scribbling some unintelligible notes into his notepad. He moved everything to the coffee table so that he could focus on Olivia on his lap. "Thank you."

"I don't want to get on that plane in an hour." Olivia sighed, leaning her head against his chest. "Every time I have to say goodbye to Alex, I feel like I'm setting her up for a rocky adolescence with therapy because her mother was never there for her as a child."

"I don't think a three year old's grasp of time is that sophisticated." Fitz mumbled, rubbing her arm. "She will be so happy when you get back that it will make up for it."

"And I don't want to leave you." Olivia whispered.

"I know. I know." Fitz hugged her tighter. "I wish I could go there with you."

"No you don't." Olivia chuckled. "You hate political stuff."

"I would go to be with you." He said honestly.

Olivia hummed appreciatively, content to have his arms around her for a little while longer. "I'm keeping you from working, aren't I?"

"Yes." Fitz said softly. When she tried to get up he held her in place. "But I would rather be doing this right now."

"I should be going." Olivia mumbled unconvincingly.

"I love you."

"I don't deserve you." Olivia responded.

"Yeah right." He finally rose, standing her up. "Go change the face of American politics."

"I'll see you on Wednesday." Olivia stole one more kiss before grabbing her bags. She needed that last moment of quiet comfort with him before she entered the whirlwind ahead of her. In two days she was going to stand stage left of a nationally televised event, just ten yards from America's next president as he announced that he was going to run.

/

"Hey, you." Olivia flagged down a volunteer. "What type of car do you drive?"

"Chevy Silverado." He said.

"Perfect. Go to this address. Tell them that you are with Salas 2020. Here is the invoice, make sure that you get _everything_. It should be 20 boxes of posters and 10 boxes of other promotional gear. It is all on the sheet." She waved him away, turning back to her team at the table.

They were in the campaign headquarters for Salas2020 in Charlotte. The noise was cacophonous as volunteers set up desks and office gear. Word had intentionally leaked to the press that Daniel was going to run. Olivia did it so that the stadium at Davidson College would be packed by the time Daniel took the stage. They were still fine tuning he event, making sure that everything was perfect.

"Dr. Martin canceled." Abbey said, typing into her phone. "He has a stomach bug and quote, 'a shit ton of papers to grade.' So the esteemed poli sci professor won't be standing in the bleachers."

"Well we need to find a replacement." Olivia said.

"What about Joanne Williams. She is a civil rights activist who posted on Facebook that she was going tonight."

Olivia looked at the picture of her, holding it up to the other profiles they had situated in mock bleachers. She hesitated, cocking her head reluctantly to the side.

"That makes the screen too ethnic, turning away any good ole boys that might want a chance at this new election." Marcus shook his head.

"We need someone attractive, young, and white." Olivia agreed. "Who is the president of the College Democrats at Davidson?"

"I am." A young volunteer stopped, raising her hand confused to their conversation. She had long blonde hair and looked to be under 20.

"What's your name?"

"Caroline Wasserby."

"What have you been working on here?"

"I've been starting social media accounts for Davidson Wildcats for Salas, designing graphics for them, and doing outreach through them."

"Congratulations, you are going to be in the bleachers behind him during his announcement. Be at the field an hour before the event." Olivia waved her away. "Why haven't I seen the final draft of his speech yet?"

"The senior speech writer gave it to him over an hour ago. He's been proofreading it." Quinn said.

Olivia looked across the crowded office to see Daniel through the glass of his private office. He was alternating between thoughtfully holding his chin and scribbling into the paper. "I'll be right back."

When Olivia entered his office, he looked up. "What can I do for you?"

"Why have you been staring at this speech for over an hour when the speech is only thirty minutes long?"

"I don't know, I just can't seem to get it right." He sighed.

Olivia took the paper from his hands, raising her eyebrow. "You crossed out _people_ and then wrote _Americans_ then changed it back about three more times."

"I'm nervous."

"Go out there and shake some hands. Thank people for volunteering. I'll look over this."

"Okay." He rose, going to the main work space.

"Also, there is a girl with long blonde hair out there that looks 12. She's the president of the College Democrats at Davidson. Introduce yourself to her and tell how glad you are that she's sitting behind you at the rally."

"Roger that."

Olivia began to skim the paper, looking for anything different from the last version she read. After making a final adjustment to the closing, she made sure to personally email it to the facilities manager at the football field to wire up to the teleprompter.

/

"Am I going to get used to this?" Daniel chuckled, putting on his jacket.

"You better. This is the start of the next five and a half years of your life." Olivia straightened his tie out, making sure that his appearance was impeccable. She was getting in the mindset to speak in absolutes. If they believed that they were going to win, then they were.

"Five minutes out." Abbey said.

"Huck, did you double check the teleprompter and audio?"

Huck nodded.

"In five minutes the entire country will know your name." Olivia smiled. "I'm going to go sit in the crowd to your left. If you need anything, give me a signal. Remember to go slow, take your time. Improvise, just enough to give the speech some charisma."

By the time she found her seat off to the side of the stage, the speaker was announcing Daniel to the stage. Any nerves that he expressed five minutes ago were safely hidden. He seemed relaxed, humble, and in his zone. He was complimentary of Davidson College for hosting them and the state of North Carolina for supporting him thus far. Olivia barely focused on his speech, which laid out his platform. Her eyes darted to the crowd to the tech workers to the news companies filming it to the people in the bleachers. She noticed the rise in cheers when he took his jacket off, making a joke about the sweltering heat even after the sun set. Everything was going incredibly well. The crowd was engaged. He was charismatic. There were no SOS signals sent from anyone. Daniel closed his speech to a chant of their slogan "A New Era" as he exited the stage.

She let him greet supporters for a few minutes before making her way towards him.

"If you are the future of America, then I am honored to lay the foundation for you. Keep your grades up, that is the most important thing." He told a student, smiling for a selfie.

She tapped him on the shoulder, giving him the nod that they needed to go.

"I look forward to working with all of you to make a better America." He waved at everybody as they made their way to the campaign bus.

The bus was just as bustling as the outside. "Talk to me." Olivia said to Marcus and Abbey.

"I got word from the Daily Show crew." Quinn began, not looking up from her tablet. "They are going to run a bit on Daniel. Pretty light for the show, but they are going to make fun of how much he hyped North Carolina at a school with 74% out of state students."

"Good. Their audiences are prime Salas supporters. This will only raise awareness."

"The negatives are the usual. Small factions of Republicans dismissing him for lack of experience. Far leaning democrats criticizing him on his history of working with Republicans." Marcus said. "The usual racists questioning his citizenship. Nothing that we didn't anticipate."

"His name has been mentioned on Twitter 4,000 times already. Facebook, 3,000. That is higher than we anticipated. I'm pretty sure that this is good, but…" Quinn snickered at her phone.

"What?" Olivia demanded.

"A considerable amount of interest has circulated online about his attractiveness. Someone dug up pictures of him on the intramural cross country team in college. They are dubbing him _PCILF_. It means Presidential Candidate I'd Like—"

"I know what it means." Olivia rolled her eyes. "This is good. Keep your eyes on it for any new themes. Direct any press requests to Abbey."

As the bus pulled away, she went to sit next to Daniel at the back of the bus.

"Great job. You were casual enough for the people to buy it. There is some exciting buzz about you online."

"You don't think that I was too brief?"

"No, I like what you did at the end. It was like you were speaking from your heart."

"I was." He said.

"Of course." Olivia wanted to tell him that he didn't have to be a politician around her. He didn't write the speech, no matter how much he agreed with it.

"No, I mean I was making it up. The teleprompter stopped scrolling after the first paragraph. I guess I memorized it without knowing and I just tried to piece it together."

"Wait, what? Why didn't you signal to me or Huck?" Olivia honestly had no idea that he was improvising.

"I didn't want to mess up my flow. Plus I was doing fine without it and my mind was so focused. I guess the adrenaline hit me."

"Wow." Olivia shook her head. "I'm pretty sure that Obama himself couldn't do that."

He shrugged, "So I guess that means I am presidential material?"

"You are going to want to get some sleep the second we get to the hotel. At 5am you have a call in to NPR Washington for an interview, and at 7am you are going on Good Morning Charlotte. We can't have any bags under your eyes. Also, starting tomorrow we are going to have our first news media personnel on the bus. Just so far the Times and Post will be here, but more will come over the next week. Just keep in mind that you will be watched for every second and anything confidential needs to be whispered at the back of the bus."

"I'm assuming that I won't have any privacy for the next year?"

"Five years." Olivia corrected. "Nine, if you don't get caught taking advantage of white house interns."

"I wish you didn't have to go back to D.C. tomorrow." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "It is going to get very hectic without you here."

"I'll be busy setting up the Salas 2020 D.C. office. Plus I have a family to return to." Olivia absentmindedly opened her phone to show her lock screen which was a picture of Fitz and Alex playing at the beach.

"I can't argue with that." Daniel didn't miss her gaze.

"Abbey has learned everything from me. She is my best gladiator. But if anything goes wrong, I am always just a phone call away."

/

"Cyrus. It is good to see you." Fitz sat down at the restaurant. He was little late after dropping Alex back off at her day care, but he was glad to see Cyrus enjoying an appetizer in his absence.

"I am surprised that you called me." Cyrus noted.

"Come on. You ran the department with a tight ship. Is it that out of the blue that I would seek your advice?"

"So everything isn't as it seems in paradise?"

"You would know more about paradise. It is hard to reach you nowadays. Where did you just get back from? Florida?"

"Ah." Cyrus swatted his hand in the air. "I only went there because James had a huge new story on some hurricane. Naturally, I went along, because I am the retiree. I was banished from the action to golf courts and country club brunches."

"Is that a tan?" Fitz joked.

"Stop it…" Cyrus rolled his eyes. "What are you really here for?"

"I'm trying to lobby Craig for more funding for this new technology. I figure that if I can sell off some of the equipment it would replace, then he would meet me halfway."

"Craig as in the CFO?" Cyrus let out a laugh a little too loud for the restaurant they were eating in. "That bastard hasn't shed money to a bum on the side of the street since 1974."

"But I need this new tech."

"Listen… I tried. For every penny of my tenancy as department head I tried to get past his assholery. Never quite punctured his dick armor."

Fitz sighed a heavy sigh, waving over the waitress so he could order his lunch. After placing his order and Cyrus chiming in his too, he clasped his hands across the table. "Tell me what I need to do to get past him."

Cyrus took a prolonged, tortuous sip from his ice water glass, using every second to analyze Fitz's body language. "The closest I ever got to rattling Craig was on the subject of his marriage. I hinted around at it here and there, and I have strong suspicions that there might be infidelity in the picture."

"So he's a filanderer?"

"I've had dinner with his family. His wife is a straight laced catholic." He took another shrimp into his mouth. "Take it as you will."

"Thank you." Fitz pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I need to make a phone call."

"Don't be rude…" Cyrus laughed, leaning back with his arm across the back of the chair. "If there is anything I have learned in the shoes you now fill, it is that you can never run out on a lunch date. This is your professional excuse to kick back and enjoy some quiet before you get back into those horrendous sterile corridors with nurses and doctors begging at your ears every second."

"Fair enough." Fitz nodded, reclaiming his seat. "I see that you ordered an appetizer…"

"Which means that you are footing the bill." Cyrus finished his thoughts.

"Exactly." Fitz chuckled.

"But some practical advice…" Cyrus began.

"I'm listening."

"Going in right now is useless. The budget is already finalized for the year. If you really want some more funds allocated for the department, prepare for the next cycle. The budget goes under review in November. That gives you enough time to make sure you have a pitch perfect angle."

"How do I go about it?"

"Craig is the main valve, unfortunately." Cyrus admitted. "He decides what is brought before the board of Chairmen."

"Noted."

/

Fitz heaved a heavy sigh of relief as he came through the front door of the townhome. The babysitter was waiting on the couch, clearly engrossed in her homework.

"Alex must be asleep."

"I put her to bed, but I think she might still be waiting on you." She gathered her books. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, you are free to go home." Fitz handed her a check.

"Oh, Mrs. Pope left a present for you in the bedroom."

"Thank you." Fitz nodded, just ready to be alone in the quiet. He checked on Alex, knowing that she liked to see either Olivia or him before actually going to sleep. He was surprised that she was fast asleep. Maybe she just had a tiring day or was maturing out of her fear of the dark.

He was mildly curious about what present Olivia could have left him. She was supposed to be back the next day, so he didn't understand why she would go through the trouble of having a present shipped to their bedroom. Especially considering the amount of work she had to do on the campaign. Part of him hope it involved a canter of scotch from a special distillery in North Carolina. He shed his jacket and loosened his tie on his way to their bedroom. He had his shoes in hand by the time he opened the door.

"Hi." Olivia said in the most demure, enticing voice. She was in a new set of lingerie. It involved just as much lace, but with a considerably excessive amount of skin shown.

"Are you the present?" Fitz raised his eyebrow, unbuttoning his shirt at a slightly more rapid pace.

"Not completely." She pulled the bottle of scotch that he had been vying for from behind her bare back. "But I think you might want to save that for later." She set the bottle on the night stand.

"You were not supposed to be back until tomorrow." He was instantly at the side of the bed, his shirt now a pile on the floor.

"I like to surprise people." She smirked, spreading her legs in a wide V to welcome him in. The lace of her panties barely concealed anything at her core. His hands were quick to grope her upper thighs.

"Consider me speechless." He leaned down to kiss her deeply. As much as she surprised him when he walked into the bedroom, he planned on surprising her in the bed.

Olivia was putty in his hands. She didn't bother concealing how much she was desperate for him as she rapidly undid his bet and slid his pants and boxers down to his ankles.

He forcefully grabbed her breasts, maneuvering them out of the lacy constraints of her bra. He sucked on her titties, leaving her grasping for air and clamoring on the clasp of her bra so that she could give him more access. She scooted further back on the bed, inviting him to topple her.

"Fuck, I missed you." Olivia gasped through his aggressive assault on her lips.

Fitz replied only in his actions, sliding from her mouth to her neck. She secured a grasp on his dick, pumping it to the best of her distracted hands. "Careful." He warned. "I haven't seen you in three days."

Olivia smirked at his quickness to get off. She allowed him to forcefully lift her left leg over his shoulder. This rough reunion sex was what made leaving him and Alex for the road worth it. She communicated with him via nonverbal cues to let him know that she was ready to receive it. He entered her, making her lurch forward and bite his shoulder.

"I see that you missed me just as much." He murmured into her ear, enjoying the effect he had on her.

"Shut up." Olivia groaned, arching her back and stretching her flexibility to accept more of him.

Words were not useful at the moment as he pumped into her fulfilling the dreams he had of her in his absence.

"Why are you so quiet?" He teased in her ear as he felt her orgasm approaching.

"Alex—" She stuttered.

"Is fast asleep." Fitz crooned in her ear. "I have missed you. I have spent my nights here dreaming of you _vocalizing_ how much you love me."

"Fuck…" Olivia groaned, clinging desperately to his toned back. "This feels so fucking good."

Fitz hummed his support in her ear. She had a handful of his curls in one hand and her other hand was desperately grasping the sheets to the side. All she could utter was breathy notes of praise as she came, burying her head into his chest. As usual, the tightening of her pussy around his strained cock set him overboard as well.

"Oh my god." He muttered as he collapsed next to her.

She reached over to wipe the sweat from his brow, with an unmistakable smirk on her face. "Do you like your gift?"

"Which one?" He asked, raising his eyebrow towards the untouched scotch on the night stand.

"You know which one…" Olivia leaned forward to tease his lips with hers millimeters away. Her hips couldn't help but press themselves against his waist.

"Exceptional." He breathed, kissing her more fully. He pulled back, propping his head up on his arm. "Why are you back a day early?"

"I never planned on staying a day after the announcement. I just craved that look of surprise on your face."

"It took my breath away." He whispered in all awe and honesty.

"How was everything while I was gone?" She asked, running her hand along his arm.

"The usual. Alex was fine."

"What about your work thing. Any new moves?"

"I met with Cyrus today…"

"Cyrus?"

"I needed some advice." Fitz sighed. "He gave me a heap of bad news, but I think I might have a gateway into some finances."

"That's good news." Olivia hiked her leg over his hip, intentionally grinding into him. "Do you think you could find a gateway into round two?"

"I think I might." He smirked, kissing her again. He took a moment as her thick lips brushed against his to appreciate just how right it felt to have her there next to him.

Her phone rang, making both of them curse in their minds. "What?" She asked begrudgedly. Fitz pulled back, releasing a barely noticeable sigh. "Then ask Abbey… I don't care if she is asleep… No, she has access to the contact list too. I told you this line was only for emergencies." She ended the call, reaching past Fitz to toss her phone on the nightstand. "Sorry about that, where were we…"

"Is this how it is going to be?" Fitz asked.

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked. She took his hand and drew it across her hip, but it was limp.

"Work coming first."

"What?" Olivia asked in part confusion and indignation. "I told them to ask Abbey. I'm here now. I am all yours."

"Then turn your phone on silent." He said definitively.

"What if it is an emergency?"

Fitz huffed, leaning across her to silence her phone and tossing it to the floor. It landed in a thud on the rug.

"That was kind of hot." Olivia teased.

"That turns you on, huh?" Fitz slid two fingers up her inner thigh. "Maybe I should do it more often."

"There are some other… _uh_." Olivia moaned as he inserted to fingers in to her. He took advantage of her open mouth to slide his tongue against hers, interrupting her thought even more. "Things that you should do more often."

* * *

 **Sorry if this chapter felt disjointed. I don't want to get too bogged down in election stuff, so the next chapter will have big time jumps too.**

 **Nonetheless, please review! I love hearing about where y'all think story lines are going and opinions on characters.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry for any confusion this morning, I accidentally uploaded this to a different, finished story. That's what I get for uploading chapters before I drink any coffee haha.**

* * *

 **A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER**

"I miss you." Fitz mumbled into the mouthpiece. It was his lunch break, and he was exhausted. He knew that he should have spent those thirty minutes taking a power nap, but he needed to talk to Olivia. She disappeared in the middle of the night, leaving a note on her pillow saying that she had an emergency in Maine with the campaign that she had to go to. This was not the first time it had happened, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

"I'll be back by tomorrow night hopefully." She said.

There was enough background noise from her end that he could barely hear her. He knew that "tomorrow night" meant she would probably come in around 3am and pass out in the bed, then get up by 6 and head into her office. "You are working too hard." He said.

"What?" Olivia almost yelled into the phone. The noise in the background only got louder, drowning out any hope of communication.

"I said that you are working too hard." Fitz found himself raising his voice even more.

"I have to go, babe." He could hear her barking orders to someone. "I'll call you tonight. I love you."

Before Fitz could say _I love you back_ , the line went dead. He sighed, tossing his phone onto his desk and staring at the salad in front of him. He didn't have an appetite anymore. He felt like he swimming upstream in all areas of his life.

After his meeting with Cyrus months ago, he thought long and hard about using the CFO's philandering tendencies against him, but it didn't seem right. He didn't think that using his personal issues against him at work would make him any better. Plus, he knew that Craig had the power to fire him with the snap of his fingers.

Instead, he spent every lunch break doing research on the new tech and financial history of the hospital for context. He contacted some hospitals that had even older systems, and worked some potential deals for selling off their old stuff. If he was going to present the CFO with his pitch, it had to be rooted in unbeatable logic. The clock was ticking, though. The annual budget meeting with the board of trustees was in a month, and he had to make the deadline.

Usually, Olivia would be the one to help him with stuff like this. She had a great talent with politics no matter what arena. But she was unavailable. Always on the road or working late nights at the D.C. headquarters. In the beginning, he enjoyed their reunion sex every time she went away, now it was going stale. He missed the time when she wasn't swamped with campaign work and primary polls. He wanted to go back to when her phone would only ring 3 times during dinner. Now, he was lucky to have her sit down for a meal, let alone stay off of her phone for thirty minutes.

They agreed that she would take on the campaign _only_ if she stayed in D.C. Traveling was meant for emergencies. Yet, it seemed like there were consistent emergencies that were always pulling her away. Whether it be bad press, resistance from donors, or logistical issues falling through, her mind was always on the bus with the campaign.

He knew that she was stressed. He knew how much this election meant to her. Yet, he couldn't deny that he was increasingly feeling disconnected from her.

/

 **THREE WEEKS LATER**

Fitz held his breath as the CFO of his hospital, Craig Jenkins, set his pre-packaged sushi down and glanced over some figures that Fitz had printed up. He just finished giving his pitch for more funding and proof that other hospitals would pay for their old equipment. Now he was waiting for any sign of hope that Craig would meet him halfway.

"Pop quiz." Craig leaned back in his chair, plopping a piece of nigiri into his mouth. "What is the infant mortality rate at this hospital?"

"5.0 per 1,000." Fitz said.

"And in America?"

"6.1."

"I fail to see the issue here." He shrugged.

"America is currently 39th in the world for lowest infant mortality rates, which is atrocious considering we rank 3rd in global competitiveness. If our hospital was a country, it would only make it to the 24th spot. We have European countries kicking our ass in technology. Not because they are smarter or more capable than us, but because they actually invest in healthcare—which, by the way—we rank 44th in." Fitz tried not to be discouraged by the lack of interest on his face. "I notice that you have a crucifix behind your desk."

"My wife's idea." He dismissed.

"I am not a religious man." Fitz admitted. "I fell out of it in high school. Never really put the effort forth to try it out again."

"Your point?"

"My point is that life is valuable. Too valuable to put a price tag on, but I understand the position that you are in, where you have to put a price tag on everything. I am doing everything within my power to meet you halfway here. And sentiments aside, I have done the math too. This new system of testing could lower our infant mortality rate to 3.5 with a 0.2 margin of error. That would place us somewhere between France and Switzerland. _That_ is something we could market. It is something that will make us competitive with privatized birthing centers. It could increase our maternal patient intake by 12%. If we have mothers choosing us for our OBGYN department, then they will bring their families here for other stuff as well. It will trickle out. "

Craig reached forward to press the button on his desk. "Jamie, when is my next appointment?"

"Fifteen minutes." A voice came through the speaker on his desk.

"You obviously have done your homework, Dr. Grant. But I have barely made a dent in this, and I am still starving." He stood up and extended his hand. "Thank you for a very fascinating lesson in our global rankings."

"Thank you for your time." Fitz said politely. He could figure that Craig was not actually thankful, they were just words. "I know that the budget will go under review with the board next week. I hope that you will find it right to present my case."

"I thought I was clear." Craig said, this time his tone was clear and direct. "It is a no."

"Excuse me?" Fitz was hoping that he misheard him.

"You memorized some compelling numbers there, but come on. You can't just spit out some pathos about how America's healthcare is failing us and expect it to mean shit. America sucks at healthcare. We also fail at math, science, and language diversity, but can somehow find the funds to lead the world in incarceration. If you want to succeed as department head, you need to be realistic."

"I see." Fitz nodded. "Thank you for your honesty."

/

Fitz walked in the door to their home, pulling the bills out of his wallet to pay the babysitter. He thought that he told her that he would leave work in time to pick Alex up from daycare, but when he went to pick Alex up, they told him that she had already been signed out. He assumed it was a miscommunication. Their babysitter was becoming a frequent fixture with Olivia's hectic schedule. Instead of their babysitter, he found Olivia playing dress up with Alex in the living room.

"Hi." He put his wallet back into his pocket. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Georgia?"

"No, I was just in Ohio. They were in Georgia last week. We moved down to Pennsylvania to hit some of the industrial factory sites, so I hopped off at Philadelphia and caught the train back. I wanted to could make it home by dinner." Olivia stood up and went over to greet him with a kiss. She pulled his arms around her waist. He seemed distant. "You don't seem happy to see me."

"Just surprised." He said. "You should have called."

"I texted you." She raised her eyebrows, taking a step back. She pulled her phone out to show him. "Oh, wait. It never went through. I must have been in a tunnel or something."

"Are you hungry?"

"No, I had a massive philly cheesesteak for lunch. To go to Philadelphia and not have a photoshoot with a greasy sub the size of your forearm is political suicide." Olivia turned back to Alex. "What about you? Have you worked up an appetite in your little tummy?"

Alex giggled as Olivia tickled her.

"I had a long day at work. I was just going to heat up something frozen."

"Okay."

"There is some left over spaghetti squash in there for Alex. She ate it up last night."

"Good. I'm worried that she isn't gaining enough weight. I might need to start her on some of those nutritious drinks."

"Sure." Fitz said.

Olivia set the table for them and prepared their plates. She poured a glass of wine for herself and a small bowl of popcorn to snack on. Fitz was actually surprised to see her sit down with them.

"So how has work been?" Olivia asked.

"Well, I had a meeting with the CFO. Remember when I told you about how—"

"Hold on, babe." Olivia pulled her buzzing phone out of her pocket. "What?" She carried on a vaguely demanding conversation with someone on the other line, while keeping her eye on Alex and making sure that she didn't make a mess of her dinner. She finally hung up, setting her phone to the side. By then, Fitz had all but finished his dinner. Alex was pretty close to full herself. "I'm sorry. What were we talking about?"

"Nothing." Fitz was exhausted. He couldn't tell how much he was making it up in his head, or how much her frequent absences were actually taking a toll on their marriage. Alex didn't notice. She was perfectly happy and on her own routine with her day care. She quickly adjusted to nights with just her and Fitz. And when Olivia was home, sometimes things seemed normal. She had her periods when the campaign was going smoothly and she was more present around them.

He thought back fondly to their one year anniversary that wasn't too long ago. They had made reservations at a nice restaurant, but Fitz had to cover for a sick doctor, making him exhausted and late getting home. So instead, they spent the night just lying around in their pajamas, talking to each other about their past year – how they felt about surviving a year of marriage. It was a quiet night like that where he was reminded of how much he loved her.

But she also had her periods when she was in and out and always distracted. Sometimes, he wasn't even sure where in the country she was. He just had to check the campaign's twitter account.

After eating, Fitz did the dishes while Olivia got Alex ready for bed. Fitz made it in time to hear the last of Olivia's bedtime story and kiss Alex goodnight.

"Where are you going?" Fitz asked when Olivia walked past him with a file folder in her hand. He half expected her to go to bed early with him.

"I just need to get these things scanned and sent to the campaign headquarters. It shouldn't be long."

"Gotcha." Fitz needed a shower to clear his mind. He spent longer under the steaming water, just taking the moment to have some quiet in his day and relax. He was so zoned out that he didn't notice Olivia enter the bathroom. "What are you doing?" He asked as she opened the shower door and stepped in, naked.

"Taking advantage of you wet and naked." She smirked, pressing her body against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began to kiss along his neck.

"Look, I'm tired." He said regretfully. He gently removed her arms from his neck and reached for the water, turning it off. Olivia was slightly stunned as he reached for two towels, wrapping one around her shoulders first and the second one around his waist.

"What is wrong?" Olivia followed him out of the shower, reaching for her robe. Shower sex was his favorite way to take her. It was usually her kicking him out, because they could spend hours wasting their water bill.

"Long day." He dried himself off, changing into his pajamas without looking at her.

Olivia followed him to the bed. She didn't know whether to press for more answers or let him be. She finished her nightly routine, crawling under the covers to where he already was. She knew it was more once his body didn't automatically gravitate towards her in bed. She took his hand, forcing physical interaction between them and kissed it. The corner of his mouth curved upwards, giving her hope. But she knew better than to press it now, because in about 30 seconds he was going to be passed out.

/

Olivia woke up to slight movement in the bed. Her schedule was so hectic that she wasn't used to getting more than 4 hours of sleep at a time. She checked the clock. It was 1:38am. She wiped her eyes to see Fitz sitting up. He was motionless, staring ahead.

"Fitz, are you okay?" She whispered.

He nodded in silence.

"If you are so tired, then why are you up?" Olivia patted his pillow. "Come on, lay back down." He followed her orders, laying on his side to face her. She drew his arm over her hip and ran her thumb along his cheek. "Do you want to tell me what is bothering you? This is more than being tired."

Fitz was silent for a moment, searching her eyes through the dark. "I don't want to ruin our night together."

"We have many more nights to spend together." Olivia chuckled to herself at his strange wording. After all, they were married. "But we can talk in the morning if you want."

"If you are even here." Fitz barely whispered.

"What?"

"You tend to disappear in the mornings."

"Fitz, I know that this has been hard, and I'm sorry—"

"I am trying to be supportive here. I want you to have the freedom to do whatever you want with your career, but…" He trailed off.

"But what?"

"Yesterday I was cooking dinner with Alex. I had these pots out and she was sitting on the counter. She picked up a spoon and started hitting them between the pots. Only, she wasn't just making noise, she was figuring out her own melodies. It was kind of incredible. I recorded it on my phone, but I couldn't bring myself to send it to you."

"Why not?" Olivia asked, her voice trembling. The somber tone he had was disturbing to her.

"The first thing that I thought was that you should have been there. I don't mean _you should have been there_ as in it would have been nice for you to see it. I mean that you _should_ be there. With us."

"I'm trying really hard here, Fitz." A tear rolled down her cheek.

"You have been gone 5 times in the past month, and it is always overnight trips. When you are here, your mind is still on the campaign bus. I'm tired of telling you how much I miss you. I'm tired of _missing_ you."

Olivia was silent. She didn't have anything to say. She knew that he was right. She just didn't see a way to make it better. She wasn't sure if she could even speak without breaking down.

"And on top of all of this, I am worried about you. When was the last time you had a full night's sleep? When was the last time you took the morning off to take a swim? When was the last time you turned all of your devices off and just… took a minute?"

"I'm fine, Fitz." That was something she could defend. Being busy kept her on her toes. In a way, the lack of sleep and high octane tempo kept her energized. It was how she operated.

"No, you are not. It is the adrenaline junkie in you. You think that it is healthy, but it's not. I'm a doctor, and I know unhealthy stress when I see it. You really need to slow it down."

"I don't know what to say." Olivia whispered, but it barely came out.

"I don't know what I want you to say." Fitz said honestly. "Part of me wants to just pretend that everything is okay, and hold you tight—because I never know when I'm going to see you again. The other part wonders if this can sustain itself."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't felt like your husband since the campaign was announced."

Those words hit Olivia like an atomic bomb. "You don't mean that."

"You haven't felt like my wife."

"Fitz… Don't say that." Olivia couldn't express how much those words hurt her. She wiped a tear from her cheek, sitting up.

"Don't leave." Fitz sighed as she moved his arm from her waist and put her feet on the ground. "The last thing I want is to sleep alone in this bed another night."

Olivia paused for a long moment. He watched the vague outline of her body from the alarm clock's light as she took several deep breaths, trying to control the sobs threatening her body. They were partly from her exhaustion both mentally, emotionally, and physically. They were partly because the one steady thing she had found in the last couple of years was now falling apart. It was falling apart without her even realizing it. Fitz reached across the bed, taking her hand. He pulled her back into a tight hug against his chest.

"I think we both need to get some sleep." She whispered against his t shirt.

"I think you are right." He replied.

/

The next morning, Fitz woke up to find Olivia doing her makeup in the bathroom.

"Hi." He said, his voice hoarse as if their last night was spent screaming instead of whispered emotions.

"Hi." She responded softly. She was putting concealer under her eyes.

"Is Alex up yet?" Fitz reached for his toothbrush.

"No. I am going to get her started once I finish." Olivia sighed at her reflection. "If I can ever get this puffiness to go away. I've got this live stream morning show vlog thing."

Fitz hmmed in acknowledgement as he brushed his teeth. There wasn't much to say between them after their night. Neither wanted to rehash anything. Olivia finally gave up, accepting the faint signs of last night's tears on her face. "Can I see the video?" She asked.

"What?" He spit into the sink, rinsing out his mouth.

"Of Alex playing with the pots." Her voice was quiet and not at all like it was yesterday.

Fitz went back into the bedroom to get his phone. As Olivia watched, a huge smile came across her face. "She is keeping 3/4 time." Olivia said in wonder. "She is so smart."

"She is." Fitz agreed.

Olivia cleared her throat, continuing her makeup. Once she finished her mascara, she went to go drag a grumpy Alex out of bed. Fitz could hear Olivia talking to Alex in the way that she did, carrying on their toddler conversations. He got dressed for work and met them in the kitchen. For what it was worth, he was okay with pretending that this quiet morning was how it always was. They both needed a semblance of normal.

"Have a great day at work." Olivia leaned up to give him a meaningful kiss. "Is that a new cologne?"

"I got it last week." He nodded, happy that she noticed.

"I like it." She picked up Alex in one arm and her purse in the other. "I can get Alex after day care."

"Thanks." Fitz kissed both of them once more before watching them go out the door. She seemed different from last night. There was a change, but he told himself not to overanalyze it. He didn't want to get sucked in by the tiniest things she did, when there were bigger issues to be dealt with.

/

Olivia spent all day at work isolating herself in her office. They used the OPA office for a D.C. station for Salas 2020, but her office was off limits to the volunteers and staff. Her mind could barely focus on the campaign after her night with Fitz. She purposefully distanced herself from campaign matters to clear her mind, focusing more on OPA business. By the time that the clock turned to 3:30, she grabbed her purse and coat. She wasn't above using Alex as an excuse to get away from the office, even though pick up went on until 6pm.

"Alex needs to be picked up from daycare, so I'm going home." Olivia told Huck, who was in his office. He generally avoided the people in the conference room, doing whatever tasks Olivia gave him in the privacy of his office. He nodded, acknowledging her.

Olivia picked up Alex and ran some errands with her. She didn't know the answers to the storm whirling around her and Fitz, but their conversation the previous night was a wake up call to her. She wasn't sure about how to deal with any of it other than to show more effort on her part. She needed to make him feel like she was trying. She needed to try.

She put on some of the LPs she used to play when Alex was an infant. Alex used to love watching the vinyl turn on the record player. Turns out that two years later Alex was still enamored by it. She seemed to come out of her shell more, singing to the melodies and dancing around in her uncoordinated ways. Olivia had to periodically stop her from trying to touch the record player in case she broke it.

Stevie Wonder was crooning at max volume when Fitz came home from work. He was surprised to see Olivia actually in the kitchen preparing a meal more complicated than popcorn.

What is this?" Fitz raised his eyebrows at the dinner place that was set. Alex was sitting in her high chair, scribbling on a coloring exercise that Olivia must have given her. Olivia was still in her work clothes. She walked over to him, giving him a kiss and taking his coat off.

"This is me trying." She said, hanging his coat over the back of a chair. "Get ready for the most mediocre but well intentioned cooking you have ever tasted." She grabbed her phone out of her purse. "And you can hold onto this."

"Really? _The_ Olivia Pope is surrendering her most prized possession?"

"Only until after dinner. Because I need to have the nightly numbers before I go to bed. Speaking of which, there will be no talk of campaigns or politics."

"I can work with that." He silenced her phone and put it in his coat pocket. "What is for dinner?"

"Roasted asparagus and some type of pasta with chicken."

"I'm impressed." He chuckled, taking a seat next to Alex. "And what are you working on?"

"Hola." Alex grinned.

"Woah." Fitz acted incredibly awed. "What else?"

She pointed to a blue patch on the paper. "Blue. Azul."

"What about this?" He pointed to a different square.

"Red. Roy-jahs." She said excitedly, not yet grasping the silent _j_.

"Close enough." He grinned. "Can you say _te amo_?"

"Te amo." She repeated.

"That means _I love you_." He kissed her forehead. "Te amo."

"Te amo." She giggled.

"You are so smart."

"Here you go." Olivia placed the plates of dinner down on the table. "Do you want something to drink? I already had a glass while I was cooking, so I have a bottle open."

"I'm fine." Fitz said. They sat down to eat as a family. Fitz took a bite of pasta, nodding his head.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, this is really good."

"You are lying." Olivia rolled her eyes.

"No, it really is." He tried to convince her. "It kind of has a nostalgic taste to it… Wait, I know. It is like what I used to eat in college."

Olivia put her hand to her mouth to shield Alex from her mouthing _asshole_ at Fitz.

"I'm kidding. It isn't bad. I like it." Fitz said. "I think that if you roasted the garlic, it would really make it pop."

"Slow down, I just figured out how to use a mincer today." Olivia winked. "Tell me about work."

"You remember how I was interested in that new technology that I didn't have funding for?"

"The tests for prenatal complications?"

"Yeah." Fitz took a sip of wine. "Since it was too late to petition for more funding in the last budget cycle, I spent my time doing research and preparing for the next budget proposal – which is coming up for review next month."

"And?"

"The CFO completely shot me down. I presented my case with facts and everything. He wasn't interested."

"What was your argument?"

"I talked about how being the only hospital in the region to have this technology would boost our ranking and attract more patrons in other departments, simply because mothers are statistically the choosers of their family's hospital and healthcare provider. That amongst a lot of other things. He wasn't interested."

"I'm so sorry." Olivia reached across the table to touch his hand. "I know how hard you have been working on it."

"He was a total dick about it."

"Fitz…" Olivia nodded towards Alex.

"Sorry." Fitz took a sip of water. "It just annoys me that I could actually do something to make our department better, but I can't because of him."

"Are there any other routes you can take? Maybe the CEO? Chief of staff?"

"I'm worried that if I do, then he will fire me out of spite. He has that power. And I can't risk my job over this tech."

"What was his argument against you? Or did he even have one?"

"It was weak, to say the least." Fitz sighed. "When I spit some statistics about how America was failing in healthcare, despite being a global competitor, he basically said, 'everybody knows we suck at healthcare. So what.' And left it at that."

"There has to be another way." Olivia said, encouragingly.

"It is all a little fresh in my mind. I might need to let it rest for a while. Maybe the price of this tech will come down in a couple of years and it will be more accessible." He shrugged. "What did you and Alex do today?"

"We did some shopping, because she is growing out of her clothes. Then she helped me with some grocery shopping. I talked to Alex's teachers today. They say that she is very intelligent both in artistic, verbal, and writing. But they worry that she is not interacting with the others that much."

"They told me that a couple of weeks ago as well." Fitz nodded. "I'm not too worried about it. "As long as we watch her grow. I think she is just shy. Jerry was the same way."

Olivia was fidgeting absentmindedly. She seemed antsy.

"Not having your phone is killing you, isn't it?" He smirked.

"I know… It's sad." Olivia sighed. "I keep having these worst case scenarios running through my mind. It's like having withdrawal."

"You said yourself that you would surrender your phone for the duration of dinner. If I never finish this meal…" He teased her.

"Then I will murder you and use my considerable talents to cover it up."

"Yep, not worth it." He took a big bite. "We can watch the news tonight to help you catch up."

"Thank you."

/

"I can't stop thinking about your work problem." Olivia said as she absentmindedly ran her fingers through his hair. He had his head in her lap as he read a book. BNC was on low volume, covering some non-campaign news. She was still catching up on her phone.

"What do you mean?" He glanced up at her.

"Maybe there is another way."

"There could be, but I don't want to risk my job for it. I've been working with this hospital for almost 20 years. I don't want to have a mid-career hospital move."

"What if I looked into it?" Olivia asked.

"Definitely not."

"Come on… If I find a loophole somewhere, then you would be able to save lives. I mean, more lives than you already do." Olivia was still scrolling through her emails, deleting non-essential ones.

"That is very kind of you, but you are too busy to worry about me. I'm fine. Like I said, this tech will be more accessible in a few years."

Olivia set her phone to the side, looking down at him. "Fitz…"

"You have too much to worry about. It's fine. I was a little too idealist going into it anyways. Now I know how the hospital works and my place in it."

"Okay." Olivia relented.

"Dinner really was nice." Fitz took her hand, kissing it.

"Thank you." Olivia held his cheek in her hand. She was silent for a moment, and Fitz could tell that she had something she wanted to say.

"What is it?"

"Did you really mean what you said last night?" She asked in a soft voice.

"We said a lot of things… What part?"

"About how I don't feel like your wife anymore… And you don't feel like my husband."

"Sometimes I feel like we are on different wavelengths – which can be fine. I mean, I think that how different we are is what attracted us to each other in the first place. But there are times where I don't even know where you are in the country… Or when I think you have an emergency in Arizona, you are actually moving along to Utah. That isn't how marriage works."

"I've always tried to keep you updated on where I am. Sometimes I just don't have service or I'm in the air."

"I know… I know. I know it isn't your fault most of the time. It's just the distance in general. And the unpredictability."

Olivia reached for her glass of water, taking a sip. "The Iowa caucus is coming up. Things are only going to get crazier."

"I know." Fitz whispered.

"Tell me how I can make this better." Olivia traced her fingertips softly along his jaw line.

"I don't know." Fitz said, barely as a whisper. He sat up so that he could be eye level with her. "I wish I had a clear step by step list of what we could do to make this better, but I don't."

"You and Alex are the _most_ important things in my life. I can't lose you. I wish that I could spend every night like this, here… _Present_ … But I have to see this election through. We have put so much work into this campaign. I'm afraid that if I am distracted, or step back, then all of our work will go to waste and it will all be for nothing."

"I want you to win this election." Fitz sighed. "I don't want you to think that I am holding you back. I don't want you to feel like your career is something I don't support or that you have to choose between."

"I know that."

"But I can't negate what I've been feeling. I can't act like it doesn't hurt me every time I need you, and you aren't there."

"It feels wrong to tell you to hang in there for another year. I can't be that selfish." Olivia flinched at calling herself selfish. She was aware of how much Fitz sacrificed just to be her husband and Alex's father. She knew that sometimes she put her career ahead of her personal life.

"I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere." Fitz said with certainty. "As unhappy as I may be, I love you. I don't like the person that this campaign has made you, but I am still here."

"I love you." Olivia whispered, holding back tears. "And I want you to know that I don't deserve you. Everything you do for me and Alex, I just… I would be lost without you."

They sat there in silence, trying to figure out how to continue. They both wanted everything to be okay, but neither knew how. Finally, Olivia caught a glimpse of the time on the television. It was late, and she no doubt had a pile of work waiting for her in the morning that she avoided that day.

"At least now we know where we stand." She said softly, turning the TV off. "What hurt me the most about all of this was that I had no idea you were unhappy. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I can only promise that I will try to do better."

"That is all I can ask."

"But I need you to be honest with me from now on. I know that I get distracted at work, and I get blinders on the side of my eyes. I need you to let me know when you are unhappy."

"I can do that." He took her hand in his and kissed the palm. "As long as we remember why we embarked on this crazy relationship from the start, I think we will be okay."

"I hope so." Olivia stood, keeping her hand clasped in his. "I'm going to bed. Are you coming?"

He nodded, following her.

/

The next day at the office, Olivia still couldn't shake Fitz's work problem from her mind. It was her inner fixer. This was what she was meant to do – fix. However, Fitz told her not to get involved. She couldn't tell how much of that was him not wanting her help, or him being too self-less to ask for it. Olivia knew Fitz too well to know that he had the tendency to downplay his own struggles so that they wouldn't burden her. She also knew how much this new tech meant to him.

She found her mind wandering to his problem in work. They were working on debate prep for the next Democrat debate. The campaign bus was somewhere in rural Pennsylvania on the way to the next rally. She was linked in via video chat. Salas was up against Senator Jones, a veteran in Congress, and Mayor Watson of New York City. She was playing Mayor Watson with expected questions.

"If the American people chose me to be their next commander in chief, then I promise to treat each decision with the utmost importance." Daniel said. "I will—"

"No, stop there." Olivia interjected.

"Now, Mayor Watson—" Daniel assumed she was in character.

"No, I mean retry that phrase back there. It is too vague. The American people are weary of any clichés and feel-good rhetoric. You need to be more specific. Give examples."

"But… I have no examples. I have no military experience."

"Neither does Jones or Watson. Which is why you need to distinguish yourself. Show that you have done your research."

"What is the most recent military disaster?" Abbey asked, scrolling her laptop.

"Talk about the recent hostage situation in Syria. With the journalist?"

"That's dangerous." Daniel protested. "There are a lot of high emotions around it. I mean, I can imagine that the families are still grieving and trying to move on."

"That empathy, right there, is an asset." Olivia pushed. "If you play this right, you could show them how caring, but diligent you are."

"Okay, I'm listening."

"Push the connection between war to man and family. The sentiments behind it will add to its weight. Marcus, ask the question again."

"What makes you qualified to lead the largest and most powerful military in the world?" Marcus asked.

"That is a trick question, because nobody is qualified." Daniel flipped the question, and Olivia liked where he was going. "No person on this stage, in this auditorium, in this country, really. You can be qualified on paper, but the power to make the decision to take someone's life, or put American soldiers in harm's way is something that shouldn't be taken lightly. I think that our military system has forgotten the value of our safety. Recent history proves that American involvement has aligned more with special interest and resource access than what it should – our safety." He took a pause. "Looking at the tragic hostage situation where American journalist Mike Rutherford was captured by rebel forces. That is a free American put in harm's way, trying to elevate voices of suffering in Syrian villages. A true hero. And the American government had the power and resources to assure his safety, but they didn't. They put their interest in the oil market and the rebel control of those resources over American life." He took another sigh. "I imagine that the hardest thing a President has to do is call a widow, or a family who has lost someone in the service. So as the commander in chief, I promise to protect our citizens overseas whether they are devoting their lives to service, or whether they are civilians."

"Good." Olivia said. Daniel was a highly skilled orator, but sometimes he needed to be pushed out of his comfort zone. "Moving on."

"This one is a little more personal, but I wouldn't rule out the moderator using this subject – especially your competitors." Marcus said. "Why haven't you settled down?"

Daniel let out a soft laugh. This was a question that they had prepped him on extensively. "Who says that I am not settled?"

"There is no wife on your arm – or husband, if that is your style." Abbey interjected, playing her role.

"I could try to dodge this question, remind you that my personal life has no impact on my decision-making. But the truth is that I simply haven't found the right person. I don't believe in settling. When the time is right, I will. But I have way more important issues at hand right now, like prison-reform."

"Nice pivot." Olivia said. "You could have attacked me for my two divorces, but you stayed above the fray."

"Now, Mayor Jones." Marcus continued. "Speaking of prison-reform, your tenure as mayor has brought strict laws down on drug violations, and extended sentences for offenders. How do you defend your actions?"

"I don't have to defend them, statistics do." Olivia said. "NYPD's tough on crime stance has decreased drug usage by 7% in at rick neighborhoods like Brooklyn and the Bronx. I believe that what people lack today is discipline. That is why ruling crime with an iron fist gives these criminals structure."

"By placing them in prisons with multiple investigations in to human rights violations?" Daniel interrupted.

"By ensuring our streets are safe." Olivia countered.

"Now, I think we agree on the importance of safety. We are the greatest nation in the world, there is no reason that our crime rates should be so high. But, I think that Mayor Jones is going about it wrong. We don't need to be _tough_ on crime, we need to be _smart_ on crime."

"Fine words from a governor of a rural state." Olivia dug.

"North Carolina has crime – don't get me wrong. We have a real issue with the cycle that youth fall into, when their school system fails them and a culture entices them to resort to crime. But that is why it is so important to take a step back and observe the cycle. Throwing a person into the prison system does nothing but set them back for when they get out. If we invest more of our resources in better education for under-funded schools, community outreach programs, and most importantly jobs in crime heavy areas, we would nip the problem in the bud. We would see less overcrowded prisons, less families broken up by a system meant to fail them, and more economic growth. After all, a nation can't compete globally when over 2 million of our citizens are behind bars."

"Good, good." Olivia checked her phone, distracted. "Marcus, I'm going to need you to take over Mayor Jones. I have something I need to take care of. Send me notes for the rest of the prep." She disconnected the web chat and opened up her web browser.

She looked up the CFO of Fitz's hospital, beginning her research. There was only so much she could do without the full force of her team, but she wanted to keep this one off of the books. She was still unsure if she should even continue this. She researched the financial infrastructure of the hospital as well as she could. She kept hitting dead ends, but she could feel that something else was there. Her gut was telling her to push further.

"Huck, come here for a second." Olivia called down the hall. He came obediently, his face asking her what she needed. "I need you to hack into this guy's personal devices."

/

"I didn't want to put you through the same torture of pretending to like my cooking last night." Olivia joked, when Fitz came through the door. "Once you texted that you were going to be late, I thought we might take it easy tonight."

"Pizza is always the right choice, right Alex?" He lifted her up in the air in greeting, making her laugh.

"How was work?" Olivia asked, sliding her body against his.

"Fine." Fitz said, leaning in to kiss her. "How was work for you?"

" _Interesting_." Olivia chose her words carefully.

"Care to elaborate?"

"After dinner."

"Is everything okay?" Fitz asked.

"Yeah, everything is." Olivia offered him one more kiss to convince him. "Hungry?"

/

"So what is this scandalous work matter that is NSFA." He chuckled at the acronym they used whenever they needed to talk about something out of ear shot from Alex.

"You."

"Me?" He raised his eyebrow, sitting up. Olivia swung her leg over his lap, straddling him. "Hear me out."

"What? Wait—" It clicked in his mind. "Liv, I told you not to look into my work problems."

"I didn't _do_ anything yet." Fitz tried to get up, but she held him squarely down by his shoulders. "I just looked into it, and I want to present you with some options."

"You didn't have t—"

"I never said that you had to accept either of the options, I just wanted to show you that there are alternative routes."

"Fine." Fitz crossed his arms across his chest. He was pissed, and he was hoping that his body language was expressing that – despite the fact that Olivia was still straddling him.

"Option A: Craig is an adulterer. Usually when a man has a steady other woman, it is easier to coerce them to do your will. Craig just seems to fuck anything with a pulse that isn't his wife. It is harder, but I think that I could make it work. Obviously, none of this would be traceable to either of us."

"Absolutely not." Fitz had already made peace with the fact that he wasn't going to use his personal life against him.

"I thought you might say that." Olivia was enjoying herself for coming up with these plans, even though she knew Fitz was not happy. "Option B: bypass Craig altogether. He may be the CFO, but the board members always have the last say. You see, I read through the legal paperwork behind how the hospital is set up. Craig only submits his proposals for their approval. You could always bypass him."

"And piss him off so I get a pink slip in the mail?" Fitz moved her off of him. "No."

"Fitz, are you sure?" Olivia expected this response, but she wanted just a little more consideration from him.

"I am trying not to get mad here." Fitz swung his feet over the side of the bed, standing up. "I am trying not to think too hard about the fact that I explicitly told you not to get involved here. Less than 24 hours later, you have all of this research, and a plan to do something _I told you not to do in the first place_."

"I was just trying to help." Olivia rolled her eyes. "I saw a problem, so I tried to fix it."

"You don't _fix_ me."

"I DIDN'T." Olivia snapped back in a louder voice than she intended. "I am only handing you the answer to your problem. It is up to you whether you want to use it or not."

"Well, I'm not." Fitz huffed. "I don't understand why you are giving me the option to say no, but then you are getting mad at me when I say no."

"I am fine with you saying no. I just don't like your attitude about it." She rose to her knees on the bed so that she was more at his height.

"I'm not even going to respond to that." Fitz went to put his shirt on.

"What more else can I do?" Olivia asked, exasperated. "I mean, I am trying _really_ hard here to be the wife you deserve. I see how naturally giving and self-less you are, and I wanted to return it back. But I'm honestly starting to feel like I can never win." She threw her hands in defeat. "Every step I take, it seems, gets misinterpreted. I'm never here enough, I'm always on my phone, even when I am trying to help you, I'm somehow doing it wrong." She fell back on the bed. "Literally tell me what to do."

Fitz paused for a moment, rolling her words around in his mind. His body language relaxed as he turned around to the bed. He crawled across it to Olivia. She tried to scoot away, but he was longer than her, quickly capturing her body under his.

"Livvie." He said tenderly, caressing her cheek.

"No – you don't get to call me _Livvie_ right now."

" _Livvie_." He purred.

Olivia crossed her arms across her chest and looked to the corner of the room. He thought it was comical how he was just mad at her, and now the roles were reversed.

"You are everything I could dream of from a wife."

"You don't get to smooth things over, like that." Olivia pouted.

"It's true." He chuckled.

"Go away." She mumbled, her resolve cracking.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked honestly, although he was trying not to laugh at her.

"Leave me alone."

Fitz couldn't hold it in any more. He laughed deeply and uncontrollably. "I can't do that. Unfortunately we are married."

Olivia's couldn't stay mad - or even pretend to be mad. She gave his shoulder a playful shove, pushing him off of her. "Jerk."

"So, tell me about this option B."

* * *

 **Sooooo, I have been writing these really out of order, meaning that I have a few chapters lined up right now. They should come out pretty soon. Please review! Let me know what you think about Olivia trying to put more effort in. Will it work?**


	21. Chapter 21

**FEBRUARY : THE DAY BEFORE THE IOWA CAUCUS**

"Happy Birthday."

Olivia awoke to those words murmured across her forehead with a kiss as a period mark.

"What?" She mumbled, opening her eyes, and trying to sit up. Only a tray of breakfast was across her lap. Fitz was sitting at her side with an amused smirk at her. He always loved waking her up, because despite getting up at ungodly hours every morning, she was not a morning person. "What is this?"

"Your birthday breakfast." He leaned in to kiss her confused and half-awake lips. "Happy 30th birthday."

"It's not my birthday." She mumbled.

"But tomorrow you will be in Iowa, sweeping the voters into the booths. I thought the least we could do is celebrate it today."

"Right." Olivia leaned her head back against her pillow. "That."

"What's wrong?" He chuckled.

"I just forgot my birthday was this week." Olivia hated celebrating herself. That meant dragging her feet on any birthday or Mother's Day. Fitz usually had to enlist Alex on those days to make her take a step back and enjoy herself. The last Mother's Day, they had to steal any communication devices and force her to go to a 2 hour spa treatment. It made sense that with the scramble to secure the Iowa nomination and kick off the primary season she forgot about her 30th birthday – especially since it fell exactly on the same day.

"This is a milestone birthday." He said, tempting a piece of cantaloupe in front of her lips.

"Sure." She said, still grumpy about being woken up.

"Are you mad that you will no longer top Forbe's _30 under 30_ list?"

"Shut up." Olivia rolled her eyes

"Wait… Are you actually feeling old?" Fitz laughed, deciding to poke fun at her discomfort.

" _No_ …" She said defensively.

"You are!" He delicately pulled an errant strand of her bed hair from her forehead. "I mean, you can dye the grey black, and nobody will tell the difference."

Olivia reached for his pillow on the other side of the bed and smacked him across the face with it.

"Okay, okay. Sore subject. Gotcha." He laughed a hearty laugh. "I am going to get Alex ready for day care. Stay in bed and enjoy your breakfast."

"This breakfast is really sweet." Olivia wrapped her hand around the nape of his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. "But I hope that you didn't plan anything else. I have a flight booked for 2:00."

"I know, I know. I put a present in your suitcase that you can't open until I tell you to. There are instructions included."

"You know that I don't want presents." Olivia protested. "Breakfast in bed is all I need."

"I know, but I choose to ignore your rules sometimes." He winked, leaning in for another kiss.

Olivia glanced at her clock. "If you are on Alex duty, you might want to get a head start. She was in a mood last night and wouldn't let me brush her hair last night before she went to bed. It takes you twice as long to do her hair anyways."

"I did it in fifteen minutes the other day." He bragged.

"You mean when you just pulled it back into a bun? Nice try." She joked.

"I'm getting there."

"One day you will master the French braid." Olivia winked.

/

 **IOWA**

"Did you open it yet?" Fitz asked.

"No, it is in my purse." Olivia rolled her eyes as if he could see her. He was making such a big deal about the small box she found in the lining of her suitcase that is equally annoyed her and intrigued her.

"Good." Fitz smirked. "I'll let you know when."

"Are you watching the results?"

"Alex and I have BNC blaring as we speak." Fitz replied. "Things look good, right?"

"Yeah, things look good." Olivia looked through the glass of where the campaign was watching the television. They were up big. Bigger than they expected. Overwhelmingly big. Yet Olivia was cautious. They were practically popping champagne already, but she knew that anything could change on a whim, especially with primaries.

"You don't sound excited."

"Just careful." Olivia said, grateful that his call pulled her from the boisterous room. "Can I open my present yet?"

"Oh, so _now_ you want to know what is inside." Fitz joked. "Am I keeping you from anything right now?"

"No." Olivia said honestly. His voice always brought her down from whatever stress she was feeling from the campaign. The room roared. Olivia looked up to see the TV blaring _SALAS VICTORY_. "We won." She whispered in quiet happiness.

"Okay, you can open it."

Olivia reached into her purse to pull out the neatly wrapped box. She pulled the paper off to reveal two boxes. In Fitz's handwriting, _A_ and _B_ was scrawled onto each. "Which box should I open?"

"A."

She opened it to find a gaudy keychain in the shape of the state of Iowa, with the state's flag and the words _I 3 Iowa_ printed cheaply on it. She couldn't help but laugh. "This is perfect."

"You really like it?"

She honestly loved it. She hated presents so much that she was annoyed that he made such a big deal about it. She imagined some necklace or earing set that cost him too much was in it. But the fact that he put so much thought into an ugly yet comical gift made her smile. "It is the best gift I've ever received."

"There was another one that said, _Iowan Girls Do It Best_ , but I thought that one was a little _too_ tacky."

Olivia couldn't wipe the smile off of her face. "What is in the other box?"

"A keychain that says, _you'll get them next time, tiger_ , with the number of Des Moines's best wine delivery shop."

"I love you."

"Happy Birthday."

"I should get back to the party." Olivia said regretfully. "I love you." She repeated.

"I love you too."

"Give Alex a kiss for me."

Once Olivia returned, she gratefully accepted a red solo cup of champagne. Daniel made his rounds, thanking every Iowa volunteer for their contributions. Olivia stayed off to the fringe of the room, checking their schedule for the next day. While this victory was sweet, they still had a lot of work to do. Most of their campaign workers were young and new to this, so she had to make sure they didn't lose track in the long run.

"This is _crazy_ , isn't it?" Abbey joined her, refilling her cup with the remaining champagne from a bottle.

"It is. We officially have our foot in the door."

"What if he actually wins this…" Abbey mused, as if she was conceiving it for the first time.

"He will." Olivia said with confidence.

"I mean, like… _Wow_." Abbey shook her head. Olivia had to remind herself that Abbey didn't work on her first campaign with her. She hired her old law school friend to OPA after the turned down the West Wing job. Abbey turned to Olivia and cocked her head. "You know that Daniel is going to offer you chief of staff, right?"

"Has he said that?" Olivia chuckled.

"No, but it would be natural. I mean, most campaign managers become their candidate's chief of staff."

"Well, he would have to find someone else." Olivia said.

"Why not?"

"I turned down the White House before. I can do it again."

"The last president offered you a bread crumb. But, chief of staff? You would be plucking the chord of American history. The most influence in, arguably, the most powerful country in the world… An opportunity of a lifetime."

"I like being my own boss." Olivia remained. In all honesty, the thought of working at the White House held little appeal to her. OPA was way more interesting, and she never felt tied down by politics. Abbey was silent after that comment, and it occurred to Olivia that she felt differently. "Would you accept it?"

"What? I don't know…" Abbey seemed like she never considered it herself. "I can't imagine not working for you."

"It would be okay if you did." Olivia said. "I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything by staying."

"I owe you a lot more than you think." Abbey said with depth.

"It would be an opportunity of a lifetime." Olivia used her own words against her tongue-in-cheek. "I need to get started on next week's agenda, before I fly back."

And with that, Olivia left Abbey to ponder.

/

 **JUNE, CALIFORNIA**

"What is it?" Abbey asked.

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked, snapping out of her trance.

"I mean that California's primary is tomorrow… the big determiner if we have this cinched, and you are staring off into la la land."

"Sorry." Olivia said, shuffling some papers across her makeshift desk. "What do you want?"

"I've got the latest numbers on Orange County. It's not pretty. Salas being Latino is not comforting to the white democrats who are still worried about immigration."

"What about the rest of the Southern California districts? This state is almost a majority Latino."

"Good enough to give him some lead, but not as much as we had hoped." Abbey admitted.

"Why not?"

"Honestly, we are trying to figure that out. I think that maybe it is because the younger generations don't care that much about immigration reform. There are now more second generation Chicanos and times have changed. Marcus disagrees. He thinks that it's an issue of…"

Olivia momentarily drowned out Abbey's voice. She was trying to focus her mind on Salas and the underwhelming support from communities they anticipated that he would sweep, but she couldn't. All she could think about was the plastic stick shoved down to the bottom of the waste basket. She was too scared to pull it out again. To see those two lines. The second they popped up, she was too scared to hold the evidence in her hands. Staring at it longer meant adding a crazy layer to her already hectic life.

But part of her thought about what would happen when she told Fitz. She knew that he would be ecstatic. He would know all of the right things to say to her that would make it all seem less overwhelming.

She thought back to when she found out that she was pregnant with Alex.

 **(reflection to) FIVE YEARS AGO**

Olivia always thought that women were lying about knowing early on that they were pregnant. She thought it was all superstition and hindsight. After all, some went months before realizing they were with child. But she knew early with Alex.

Jake had talked about trying for a child. She wasn't sold on it. It terrified her that she could be pregnant. But she went along slowly. They wouldn't force it, but if it happened, then it would happen. Olivia couldn't place how she knew, she just felt different. They kept a box of tests under the sink, so she thought it wouldn't hurt just to test one out. After all, she had never taken one before.

It was positive.

She couldn't move from the bathroom floor until Jake came home from a late night meeting. Even though he knew what to say, she still couldn't shake the feeling of terror in her. She never saw herself as a mother. She never felt the pull of maternal instincts before. Maybe it was because most of her memories of her mother were clouded by the trauma of her death. She never even felt the pressure of society to have a child.

However, she took solace in the fact that Jake was good with kids. He told her about his younger brothers that he helped raise – a lie she didn't realize at the time – so she believed that if anything else, their child would have a good father. And he took the lead on all of the prenatal care. He made sure that she had the right vitamins, never missed an appointment, had the nursery equipped with the safest furniture.

His preparedness made her fool herself into thinking she was ready to be a mother. And when Alex came and he wasn't there, it was like starting all over again. All of her doubts and fears about being a mother were brought back to life. Even now, that she had somehow managed to keep Alex normal and healthy, she was still awaken in the night by thoughts that maybe she wasn't doing the right thing.

It's not that she had any doubts in Fitz. He was more of a father than she could ever dream of. He was constantly there to assuage her doubts. He always knew the right things to do with Alex. He was an incredible with her, but no matter how sure and strong he was when she needed him, she was still terrified.

What if Alex didn't want a baby sibling? What if she miscarried like before? What if she felt differently about this baby, since it would be Fitz's and not Jake's? Not that she could love Alex more that she already did, but what if she loved someone else more? How would Fitz react to her pregnancy in the middle of an election—?

 **BACK TO PRESENT DAY**

"Liv." Abbey's voice snapped her out of her trance.

"Sorry." Olivia shook her head, trying to remember what Abbey was talking about.

"Do you want to tell me what is going on? I've never seen you so distracted when you are supposed to be so focused."

"I'm pregnant." Olivia blurted. "Shit."

"Shit." Abbey repeated her. "That's incredible! Have you told Fitz yet?"

"I just found out thirty minutes ago."

"This is good news, right?" Abbey was confused by her dazed appearance. "Or am I missing something?"

"It's good news." Olivia said, like she was trying to convince herself. "It's just… a lot."

"How far along are you?"

"Fuck, I don't know."

"When was the last time that you two…" Abbey trailed off.

"Do you really want to know the answer to that?" Olivia raised one eyebrow.

"You are right. I don't." Abbey dismissed, leaning forward, "Can I?"

"No, I don't want anybody to know." Olivia looked over at the rest of the bus. Thankfully, everybody was out of ear reach, but Abbey putting her hand across her stomach would definitely start rumors. "I don't know how to tell Fitz."

"You can take your time." Abbey said. "I remember how you were when you found out you were pregnant with Alex. Take this slow."

"Thanks." Olivia sighed, "Now that the cat is out of the bag, maybe I can focus on some numbers. What were you saying again?"

/

"What's up baby brother?" Fitz grinned, flagging down his brother at the baggage claim.

"Nothing much…" John Grant embraced him in a big hug. It always amazed Fitz how much they looked alike. John was 7 years younger than him, so growing up they never really looked alike. Now he was Fitz with shorter hair and a leaner face. He had already started to grey before Fitz, but he was in better shape. He served in the Navy before suffering a knee injury, and resigning to a comfy desk job in San Diego. He still worked out like a madman, but Fitz had an easy three inches on him.

" _Wow_ , this can't be Alex." He crouched down to where Alex was clinging to Fitz's leg, overwhelmed by the noisy airport.

"Alex, do you remember your uncle John?"

"The Alex I remember was about…" He raised and lowered his hand by her, trying to get the right height. "This tall." He stopped his hand by her shoulder. "You can't be the same Alex!"

Alex giggled, warming up to him again. The last time she saw him was at Olivia and Fitz's wedding.

"Here, let me get your bag. I parked my car, because your flight was delayed. It is kind of a walk."

"I can't complain after you are taking your weekend off for me." Fitz scooped Alex up onto his shoulders. She squealed, grabbing fistfuls of his hair like reigns. "It really means a lot."

"Come on, I never get to see you. I had to."

"I can help you find a place in D.C. if you ever change your mind." Fitz reminded.

"You are the one that moved across the country. It is time for you to come back home to the West."

"I like the change of seasons." Fitz said, more of to himself. He missed California, but he could never move back. He liked the structure of the East Coast. Plus his family was in D.C. "Do you think we can make it to the hotel by the time the results come in?"

"If traffic isn't horrendous." John shrugged in his nonchalant manner.

Fitz wanted to surprise Olivia at the hotel the campaign was stopped at. Tonight, the California primary results were coming in. He wanted to surprise Olivia and see what her life on the road was like. The California primary offered the perfect opportunity. Fitz knew that this election would either hand Salas the final delegates he needed, or prolong the fight – which put the fate in states supporting his competitors. He wanted to be there with her to celebrate if it went well, or support her if it didn't.

The initial plan was to get there an hour before the final results, but a flat tire left them stranded on the side of an interstate. John's wife had to come rescue them setting them back a couple of hours. On top of that, they hit late rush hour, setting them back even further. He had to listen to the results on the radio. County by county came in. Salas was ahead by a lot, then Orange County came in, tying it up.

The traffic made Fitz remember why he never he never moved back. It made him anxious to be at Olivia's side. When the final results came in and the radio broadcaster announced Salas's victory, Fitz breathed a sigh of relief. He knew how important this victory was to Olivia. She had now succeeded in giving Salas the Democratic nomination. They were still thirty minutes away, so he imagined that he would catch her mid-celebration.

When they finally made it to the hotel, Fitz set his stuff down and put a tired Alex to bed. She was too tired to wait for him to find Olivia. He knew that Alex would be happy to see Olivia in the morning. Plus, if Olivia was in the state she was when the campaign won New Hampshire, he knew that she was probably very drunk and very loud somewhere. John settled in the adjoining room, promising to keep an eye on Alex while Fitz went to find Olivia.

He went down to the lobby to ask the concierge where the campaign was.

/

"I can't believe this…" Salas said, finishing his glass. He motioned for the bartender to refill his glass. He took a seat next to her on the couch she had been occupying all evening. Usually, Olivia would cut him off two drinks ago, but he deserved it. He was now in the big leagues, ready to fight for the final prize: the Oval Office. They were at the rented out bar of a hotel right on Santa Monica's beach. Everybody was slowly filing out of the space to find their beds before getting on an early 4am roll out back to D.C.

Olivia had not had a drop of alcohol, but she was buzzing. The victory alone was enough to supplement the alcohol that everybody else had drank. She kept a half drunk glass of wine in front of her throughout the night so that nobody would question why she wasn't drinking, leading to pregnancy rumors. She leaned back into the couch, taking it all in. "You actually did it."

"No, _you_ did it." Salas corrected. "I don't believe any of the hype around _me_ getting this far. If it wasn't for you, I would have been dropped before Super Tuesday."

"I'm not the first Hispanic candidate to capture the majority of the Democratic Party." Olivia reminded. "I'm not the child of immigrants winning over an intrinsically racist country."

"Shit… I guess I am an immigrant Mexican that just got one step closer to the highest office in the land." Salas said.

Olivia couldn't help but laugh at the way he said that. "This is a big moment. I mean, just think about how many young boys that look like you are thinking…, 'damn, I could be him.' right now."

"Shit…" Salas repeated, taking a deep breath. "That is a lot of pressure."

"You don't have to feel any pressure other than to be your best self."

"It's crazy that I never saw myself here." Salas said in a deeply reflective tone. He was drunk, sure, but he was speaking from his heart. "I mean, growing up, seeing what my mom went through… I just wanted to do alright by her. I wanted to make sure she never had to worry again. I never thought that I would be propelled to this platform. That a guy like me could make it this far."

"I'm sure that she is very proud of you." Olivia said softly.

"I wish she was here…" He began. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to down the mood like that…"

"It's fine."

"No, I mean… What I mean to say is…" He stumbled over his words, setting his glass down and leaning forward. "Nobody has believed in me like she has—"

"I'm sure."

"Until you."

Before Olivia could process his words, he was leaning in. His hand wrapped around the back of her neck as he pressed his mouth to hers. It took her a second to grasp what he was doing. The thought of him expressing romantic feelings for her was so left field, that when it finally hit her that he was kissing her, she pulled back. She pushed his hand away.

"Fitz…" Olivia gasped.

"No, I'm Daniel." He chuckled, slurring his words.

Except Olivia wasn't looking at him. She was looking past him to the entrance to the bar where her husband was standing. What the fuck was he doing there? Of all times, now? Fitz took a few steps back before briskly walking down the hall. "Shit." Olivia grabbed her purse and chased after him. " _Fitz_."

He didn't respond. He just wanted to get away from her. He made it out of the hotel and onto the beach. He didn't care that sand was getting in his shoes and kicking up along his legs. He hadn't heard her call his name since the lobby, so maybe she had let him storm away. He didn't care either way.

Olivia caught up with him, realizing that yelling his name would only attract attention. She kicked off her heels once she was at the sand and ran to his side, grabbing his arm. "Fitz stop."

"No." He shoved her hand off.

"I can explain."

"I don't care."

" _Fitz_." Olivia cried, running around him and planting herself squarely in his path. "It was not what it looked like."

"You really are running through the cliché excuses aren't you." He turned, walking in a different direction.

"It is not an excuse, it is the truth." Olivia begged, power walking behind him to try to keep up. "Just listen to me."

"No, you listen to me." He stopped and turned around. Olivia couldn't stop her momentum as she collided into his chest. He didn't budge. He didn't make any moves to catch her as she lost her balance momentarily, before straightening out. "I have put up with so much of your shit this past year.

"That is not fair."

"It isn't? Then what is? You committing to a national campaign not even _days_ into our honeymoon? Spending more time of our first year on a campaign bus in Utah or Iowa than in our home? Or how about this… The real kicker of it all: you having an affair with the candidate. Seriously, Olivia, how fucking twisted are you?"

"I'm not—"

"I don't give a fuck." He spat. "I have put up with too much from you. I thought that I loved you, and we were different. I thought we would be okay. But I guess it turns out you are no better than Mellie."

"You don't know what you are talking about." Olivia begged as he began to walk away again. She reached for his hand.

"What I do know." Fitz jerked his hand away from her. "Is that I don't want to fucking look at you right now. I'm catching the first flight out of here."

"Fitz…"

"I'm not interested in your excuses. I don't want to hear about how you just had too much to drink, or any bull shit like that."

"I have not had one drop the entire night."

"You expect me to believe that?" He scoffed. He knew better to believe that on the most successful night of the campaign, she didn't have a glass or two of champagne. "I saw your fucking wine glass."

"I'm pregnant."

Fitz stopped dead in his tracks. Olivia never wished that she could take any words back as much as she did then.

"Send the father my congratulations." Fitz muttered, walking away.

Olivia watched as he disappeared further down the dark beach. She couldn't move, as if the air was made of quicksand. She couldn't believe how everything could go from great to so bad. She wanted to scream into the sand. She wanted to lie so still that the cool night would envelope her and make her cease to exist.

Fitz had never spoken to her like that. He had never looked at her with such disdain. He had never shoved her away like that. There had been times when she thought that they were through before, but this was different. She was unable to move for the longest time.

"Olivia…" Daniel's voice came from behind her.

She didn't respond. The air was still knocked out of her lungs. She was froze, not moving an inch, with her arms crossed across her stomach, as if to stop the pain that was rippling through her chest.

"Olivia, I am so sorry." He kneeled next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Daniel, I need you to leave." She said through gritted teeth.

"I was out of – "

" _Go_." Olivia growled, making him lift his hand immediately from her shoulder.

"You shouldn't be out here." He was still there. "It is cold and dark. It isn't safe."

"You have no say over where I choose to be." Olivia said in a low voice. "Leave me the fuck alone."

Daniel held his hands up in a surrendered position. He figured it was best just to walk away, and leave her. He had already done enough damage.

Finally, after Olivia felt like she could move again, she slowly wiped the hot tears from her face. Once she made it back to the hotel, she found the front desk.

"Could you give me the room number that Fitzgerald Grant is staying in?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't give out guests' confidential information." The woman apologized politely.

"He's my husband. I just forgot to get the room number from him… He's not answering his cell phone." She lied a little bit to make it seem more believable, although she was sure that if she called him, he wouldn't pick up.

"I can call his room for you, to see if he picks up, but I'm afraid that is all I can legally do."

"Never mind. Thanks for your help." Olivia walked away from the front desk. She saw John coming out of the elevator. "John!" She flagged him down, happy to see a familiar face. He probably knew where Fitz was. "Have you seen Fitz?"

"Yeah about fifteen minutes ago… Geez, Olivia what the hell happened? He said he was going to surprise you, and then came back and grabbed Alex out of bed. He said that he was going to catch a cab back to the airport. I couldn't get anything else out of him."

"Shit…" Olivia began to pace. "Do you have a car? I need to get to the airport."

"Someone has to tell me what is going on."

"It was all a huge misunderstanding. Fitz thought that he saw me do something, but it's not true. He won't listen to me."

"Fill me in on the details in the car." John was already walking out of the lobby with his keys in hand.

 **TEN YEARS AGO**

 _Fitz called in sick to work. He had never done that in his entire career. But tonight was different. He was waiting for Mellie to come home. Jerry was off at camp, and Karen had a sleepover for her friend's birthday, so Fitz settled on the couch with a bottle of scotch. It wasn't unusual for him to enjoy a couple drinks after a long shift, but this time he just didn't stop. He kept pouring until he felt numb._

 _He heard the door open and close. He lifted his heavy eyes to see Mellie come in._

" _Jesus Christ, you scared me." She said, setting her purse down. She flicked the lights on. "Why aren't you at work?"_

" _I called in sick." He mumbled, standing up._

 _Mellie saw that he was drunk out of his mind. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she started to go upstairs to their bedroom. Fitz wasn't an alcoholic, but it seem like he was picking up the bottle more and more. He seemed to be working more and more, meaning he needed to blow off steam more. She just wanted to go to bed and pretend he wasn't there._

 _He stopped her, blocking her path._

" _I'm tired." Mellie said. "Let me by."_

" _I know." His breath was like gasoline to her, making her skin crawl._

" _What are you talking about, Fitz?" His body language was alarming her._

" _I know you are cheating on me."_

" _Fitz—" Mellie took a step back. "What are you talking about?"_

" _I'm talking about how I came by your work today to get your signature on a document. Your receptionist told me that you weren't in. That you had a meeting in Bethesda with a vendor. Which is strange, considering that I saw your car parked in the corner of the garage. I went over to your car to find you topless with another man."_

" _It's not what it looks like."_

" _Then what exactly is straddling a man who is not your husband of 8 years, with no fucking shirt on? With his tongue down your throat? Or was it your tongue down his? I should have taken a fucking picture."_

" _Fitz—"_

" _Answer me." Fitz knocked a vase off of a table to the floor. It shattered loudly, making Mellie jump._

" _Fitz, you are scaring me." Mellie took another step back, putting distance between them. Fitz had never been a violent man before. But she had never seen him this mad._

" _Who is he? How long has this been going on?"_

" _A—Andrew." Mellie trembled._

" _Shit." Fitz began to pace. "Were you just with him?"_

" _I'm so sorry." Mellie whispered._

" _Leave." Fitz spat._

" _Where do I—"_

" _I don't give a fuck. Maybe ask Andrew."_

 _Mellie stood there frozen for a couple of seconds._

" _Go."_

 _She grabbed her purse, fleeing out of the door. Fitz slumped to the floor, holding his head in his hands. He wouldn't find the energy to get up from there the entire night._

/

 **PRESENT DAY**

"That's fucked up…" John admitted, after she told him about the ending of their conversation. "Nothing has ever wrecked him like finding out Mellie cheated on him. I've known him my entire life, and I've never seen him that mad… or volatile."

"Do you think Alex is safe?" Olivia let her worst fear creep into her head.

"Of course, come on. It's Fitz." John assured.

"Sorry, I didn't mean that." Olivia apologized. She was not at her best at the moment. Her head was pounding, and she had a bad taste in her mouth.

"Besides, he's mad at you, not Alex."

"That's comforting." Olivia mumbled.

"I have to ask… I mean I'm only driving you because I'm worried about Fitz." John took a deep breath. "Are you cheating on Fitz?"

"No." Olivia said with confidence. She understood why he had to ask. "I would never."

"Then why did you let him kiss you."

"I wasn't even paying attention. I mean, we were talking about what it meant that he was the first Latino man to secure a major party nomination, and then I felt his lips on mine. By the time I could wrap my mind around what was happening, I pushed back and looked up to see Fitz standing there. I mean, it all happened so fast."

"Okay." John nodded. "I believe you."

He pulled into the airport parking lot. Olivia was grateful that it was late enough that the usual LAX congestion wasn't there. They practically sprinted to the front desk.

"What flights do you have going to DCA tonight?" Olivia asked the ticket desk.

"American Airlines just sent one fifteen minutes ago. Delta has one in two hours."

"I'll take one ticket for that." Olivia pulled out her wallet out, not even thinking about the fact that all of her stuff was back in her hotel room.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but the flight is full."

"Excuse me?" Olivia asked, her heart falling. "Has everybody checked in? Are there any no shows?"

"The flight doesn't leave for another two hours. Many passengers haven't checked in yet."

"Is there a waiting list?" Olivia asked.

"Yes, I would be glad to put you on it. Let's see..." he typed into his computer. "There are two people on the waiting list, so you will be third."

"Perfect, I'll take that."

"Can I see some sort of photo identification?"

Olivia took her ID out, handing it over.

"Uh, Liv?" John asked, tapping her on her shoulder. She turned to see Fitz and Alex sitting in some of the chairs by the baggage check. Alex was asleep in his arms, her head resting on his chest.

"Excuse me." She took her ID back and walked over to Fitz.

"Hold up for a second." John stopped her with his arm gently on her shoulder. "Do you know what you are going to say?"

"No." Olivia admitted.

"Just be careful." John warned. "He may be my older brother, but I am awfully protective of him. He wouldn't have said those things before if he wasn't really hurting."

"Thank you." Olivia nodded, before continuing towards him. Fitz didn't see her, or at least he didn't act like he did. He had his phone in his hand. She sat down next to him, cautious of Alex being asleep. "Fitz, we need to talk." She whispered.

"I have nothing to say."

"I'm not letting you get on that plane."

"You can't stop us."

"Then I will go with you." Olivia said, careful to keep her words soft enough not to wake up Alex. "If you have nothing to say, could you at least hear me out?"

No response.

"I know how much cheating on you would kill you. I would never. I may not be the best wife. I may not be the best mother to Alex. But believe me when I say that I did not cheat on you with Daniel. I am not cheating on you with Daniel. We were just taking - taking in the victory. He kissed me. I didn't have time to react. When I pulled back, I saw you. That is it. Nothing else happened."

"How do I know you are telling the truth?"

"Because you know how much I love you. Even if it doesn't seem like it. I know how much Mellie hurt you. I understand why you are feeling what you are."

"What are these?" He opened his phone to show a series of pictures of Olivia and Salas. They were taken without their knowledge. At a rally in Florida, a high school in Arizona, a steel plant in Indiana. They were all candid. Probably by the press, where he was the main focus. Her straightening his tie. Him bending down to whisper in her ear. Them laughing and walking side by side.

"Friends." Olivia said honestly. "I didn't realize he felt that way about me. I swear… And if I had, then I would have cut it off from the start."

Fitz didn't respond. Instead, he kept flipping through the photos. It was one after another of innocent moments, that looked differently now.

"You have to believe me." Olivia said.

Alex stirred in Fitz's arms and they both went dead silent. Alex slowly yawned, stretching in Fitz's arms and opened her sleepy eyes. "Mommy?" She asked.

"Hey, baby." Olivia smiled, trying to act as if nothing was wrong. Alex stretched her arms forward and Olivia pulled her into her lap, planting gentle kisses along her face. "I missed you so much."

Alex was too sleepy to respond. She was just happy to be in her mother's arms. Olivia looked over to Fitz. He was still staring at the pictures on his phone. The ticket officer came over.

"We just got a call for a switched flight. There is one opening on the flight."

Fitz closed his phone. "We won't need it, thank you."

The man nodded, returning to his desk. Fitz rose, grabbing his bag. "Let's go."

Olivia hoped to find some comfort in his words, but instead he was just as cold as before. John walked over, observing their conversation from a distance.

"I'm parked in structure B." He said. Olivia stood, keeping Alex comfortable in her arms. They followed John back to his car. The car ride back to the hotel was entirely silent and uncomfortable. When they got back to the hotel, Olivia followed them to their adjoining rooms. Fitz reached for Alex from her.

"We can talk in the morning." He said coldly, shutting the door in Olivia's face.

/

 **TEN YEARS AGO**

 _The next morning, he woke up with the worst hangover of his life. He tried to get up, but cut his hand on a shard of glass from the broken vase. Slowly, but surely, he picked himself up off of the floor. He cleaned up the mess and bandaged his hand. When he heard a car pull around, he knew it was her._

" _What happened to your hand?" Mellie asked quietly. She was wearing different clothes, but they were still hers. She must have spare clothes at Andrew's place. That thought alone made him angry._

" _Nothing." Fitz looked down at his hand that was thickly bandaged. The cut was shallow, but it was long, requiring a lot of gauze._

" _Fitz, we need to talk."_

 _He motioned for her to take a seat. "Okay."_

" _I think we need to be as honest with each other from here on out."_

" _Might as well start sometime."_

 _Mellie ignored his comment. "I have been having an affair."_

" _How long?"_

" _Six months." She flinched at her own shame._

 _Fitz let out a sharp breath. "What is his name?"_

" _Andrew Nichols."_

" _How did you meet?"_

" _In a bar. I was meeting with a client, but my client cancelled last minute. He approached me."_

" _Is he married?"_

" _No."_

" _Does he know that you are married?"_

" _Yes."_

 _Fitz pinched the bridge of his nose, resisting the urge to pour himself a drink. "The kids don't have to know."_

" _Fitz…"_

" _I want you to never see this man again. If he steps near you again, I will kill him. A-and we will get through this. We will do it for Karen and Jerry. I know of a marriage counselor—"_

" _Fitz, listen to me." Mellie begged, tears forming in her eyes. "I can't do this anymore."_

" _Damn right you can't."_

" _No… I mean us. You and me."_

 _Fitz was silent. The weight of her words hit him like a truck, flattening him out on the ground. "You love him." He meant to ask it as a question, but it came out as a definitive statement._

" _Yes." She tried to say, but the words didn't come out. Instead, just a choked nod of her head._

 _Fitz couldn't speak. He was trying to grasp how everything was so calm and then in a second everything is falling apart._

" _I want a divorce." Mellie whispered._

" _Excuse me?" Fitz asked._

" _I want a divorce." She said louder._

" _Why?" Fitz felt his temper rise along with his volume. "Why do you want to break apart our family so bad?"_

" _Because you are never here." Mellie matched his tone. She had years of emotions she had been waiting to unleash on him. "Because you would rather be taking extra shifts than go to Jerry's cross country events."_

" _I have been busy providing for this family." Fitz roared._

" _We can go months without having sex, and you act like it is normal." Mellie's voice cracked._

" _You know you could fucking ask, before spreading your legs for the first guy who will put out for you."_

" _The only time we even feel like a family is when we are in front of the kids." Mellie paused, collecting herself. "You aren't the boy I fell in love with at Santa Barbara High. Maybe I'm not that girl anymore."_

 _They both froze when they heard their front door open. Karen walked in with her overnight bag. She was still in her awkward in her pre-teen years, but she had big, bright eyes and long, meticulously straightened hair. She immediately caught on to the tension in the room, despite her parents' forced smiles. It was hard to mistake the tears in her mother's eyes. Mellie never showed emotion to her._

" _Hey, Karen." Mellie said stiffly, her voice trembled the slightest bit. "Why are you home so early?"_

" _Everybody's parents just kind of came early to get them. Jaylen's mom drove me home."_

" _You should borrowed someone's phone to call me."_

" _Whatever." Karen shrugged. She kicked her shoes off and made her way past them. "I'll be in my room."_

 _Fitz and Mellie waited until they heard her door shut and Justin Timberlake's music playing too loudly._

" _So just like that, you are going to tear this family apart." Fitz said in a low voice._

" _I never meant to hurt you."_

 _Fitz rose sharply, and she flinched back. "What? Do you think I'm going to hurt you? When have I ever laid a hand on you?"_

" _Never." Mellie apologized._

" _Get the fuck out of my house."_

" _This is our hou—"_

" _Not anymore." Fitz said in a voice that trembled with pain._

/

 **PRESENT DAY**

Olivia found Fitz the next morning eating breakfast in the hotel with John and Alex. It was early, but the campaign had rolled out two hours ago, headed back to D.C. She told them she would take a flight back, knowing the last place she wanted to be was on that bus. She hadn't spoken to Daniel since the night before. He sent her text after text, profusely apologizing. She didn't respond.

John rose when he saw Olivia. "I'm going to head back to San Diego soon. I want to get out of the city before rush hour hits."

"So soon?"

"You two need to spend some time together alone. I don't want to intrude."

"It was nice to see you, even for a little bit." She gave him a hug and a look that let him know how grateful she was for everything.

"Hopefully it won't be over a year before I see you two again." He patted Fitz's shoulder, and said goodbye to Alex.

"Hey, baby." Olivia kissed Alex on the cheek, sitting down next to her. "Did you sleep well last night?"

Alex nodded, distracted by the fortress she was making out of the butter and Splenda packets.

Olivia looked up at Fitz. It was clear that neither of them had slept well. Olivia wanted more than anything for him to just speak to her. His silence was the worst torture.

"I understand if you need time." Olivia said softly.

"I believe you when you say that you aren't cheating on me." Fitz said in an equally quiet voice. They were both aware of Alex sitting there. Even though she had no understanding of what was going on, and she probably wouldn't remember this conversation, they didn't want her to know that they were struggling. "But I don't think I trust your judgment. I don't understand how you could let yourself be put in that situation. It is going to take some time… for me to trust you again."

"Okay." This was hope. This meant that they were going to be okay. Not today, but down the road.

"Are you…" Fitz struggled to find the words. "Are you really pregnant?"

Olivia nodded. "I shouldn't have told you last night. It just came out, I didn't mean to bring it up in our fight."

"I didn't mean to say what I said."

"It's okay." Olivia wanted to forget last night ever happened.

"How far along are you?"

"I don't know. I just took the test a couple of days ago." Olivia said honestly. "If I had to guess, I'd say somewhere around four weeks? With Alex, I knew early. But this one feels different."

"I'll schedule an appointment at the hospital for you."

"Thank you." Olivia nodded. She didn't know what to expect from Fitz. She wanted more support, elation. He was still mad at her, and she had to accept that. In time. "So what do we do now?"

"I guess I should get back to D.C."

"Why don't we extend our reservation here? Take Alex to the beach. We could surprise her with Disneyland." Olivia offered. She wanted them to feel like a family again. Maybe they just needed time to relax together.

"Don't you have work in D.C.?"

"That is not my priority right now." Olivia said. She meant those words in more way than one. "When we first met, I told you that you had to earn me. I was unsure if I was emotionally capable to love again. I was worried about Alex. You did. You waited and were patient. You earned me…" Olivia trailed off. "And maybe I lost you somewhere along the way. But now… Now, let me earn you back."

/

 **TEN YEARS AGO**

" _Uh, the last time we had a family meeting like this… It was when you told us Skipper got hit by a car." Jerry said cautiously as he took a seat on the couch._

 _Mellie ignored him. "Where is Karen?"_

" _She said she was coming." Jerry shrugged._

" _I'll go get her." Fitz offered. He went upstairs and knocked on her door. "Karen, can I come in?"_

" _I can't stop you." She said._

 _He slowly opened her door to find her lying on her stomach on her bed. Her face was buried in her pillows and her body language was tense. He sat on the edge of her bed. "Your mother and I want to talk to you."_

" _No need. I already know what you are going to say."_

" _And what was I going to say?"_

" _You and Mom are breaking up."_

 _It hurt Fitz to hear her say it. It made it that much more real. He put his hand on her back, gently. "Can you look at me?"_

 _Karen turned around with red eyes. She sat up and crossed her legs. She sniffled softly, making Fitz reach for his handkerchief._

" _How did you know?"_

" _I heard you two fighting when I came home early from Jessica's sleepover. I just didn't want to enter the house yet."_

" _I'm so sorry you had to hear that."_

" _Mom cheated on you."_

" _Yes." Fitz sighed. "But that doesn't change the fact that she loves you."_

" _She is a whore."_

" _Karen," Fitz was stern. "Don't talk about your mother like that."_

 _Karen was silent for a moment, sniffling. "You are going to move out of the house, aren't you?"_

" _We haven't worked out the details yet."_

" _I want to live with you." Karen said._

" _Whatever we decide will be best for you and Jerry."_

" _It isn't fair."_

" _I know, I know." Fitz pulled her into a hug. He didn't care that her tears were soaking through his shirt. He calmed her, rubbing her back softly as she cried into him. She was still small enough to seem like a child in his arms, even though he knew she was about to be a woman. "The important thing is that your mother and I love you very much. Neither of us is going anywhere."_

 _Karen's door slightly opened. Fitz looked up to see Mellie enter with her hand over her heart. Fitz gave her the wordless communication that he was handling it. She backed away before he could see the tears in her eyes. A couple of moments later, he hadn't moved, but he heard her car pull out of the driveway._

/

 **PRESENT DAY**

After breakfast, Olivia went to go buy a swimsuit and Fitz got Alex ready to go to the beach. Alex was now old enough to run up and down the beach as long as they kept their eye on her. She was a natural swimmer, but the pacific waves were too strong. Olivia made sure to be within reach of her when they were playing in the water.

"Alright, baby." Olivia took her hand, walking back to where Fitz was guarding their stuff. "Time for more sunscreen."

"No." Alex protested. "I don't like sunscreen. It is sticky."

"I know." Olivia ignored her pulling back on her hand. "But you have to protect your skin."

"I can't sunburn."

"Sunscreen protects your skin from other stuff too." Olivia sat down on their towel next to Fitz. She began to rub the sunscreen into Alex's skin. "If you don't wear sunscreen, your skin will get wrinkly like Daddy's."

Alex giggled at that as Fitz feigned insult. After Olivia had successfully covered her in sunscreen, she told Alex to play in the sand so that the sunscreen could soak in. Fitz was still quiet for most of the day. Olivia knew that he had so much on his mind, and she wanted to respect that.

"Alex, stay away from that seaweed." Olivia called, hoping that Alex would put the gross seaweed back on the beach. Olivia leaned back on her elbow, still watching Alex. She looked over to see Fitz staring at her stomach.

"You are not showing yet."

"I know." She was going to enjoy wearing a bikini today, because she knew in a few weeks her body would start to change noticeably.

"When do you think it happened?"

"I don't know…" Olivia admitted. "I probably mixed up my birth control days with all of my traveling. But I think we gave it many opportunities to fail."

"Yeah." He chuckled. The first laugh directed at her all day. He reached over, putting his hand on her lower abdomen. "We sure did."

"Daddy, Daddy!" Alex screamed, running up with handfuls of sand. "Will you turn me into a sand mermaid princess?"

"Well, you are already a princess. I can try the sand mermaid part."

* * *

 **Soooo, this chapter was actually like 14,000 words, so I had to break it down into two. The next chapter will pick up pretty close to where this one ends.  
** **I will say that some of y'all predicted Daniel from the _second_ I introduced him to the story. Y'all psychic. Anyways, let me know what you think below! Thanks for the reviews and support. It shouldn't be too long until the next installment.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey, so like I promised, this next chapter picks up right where the last one left off. You guys gave me some really dope comments after the last installment, so I hope that you enjoy this one!**

/

"Liv is taking a little break." Abbey rambled, talking herself through her own stress. "Which is fine. We just need to remind ourselves what we are dealing with now. California was nice. We had a great victory there. But now, the celebration has ended, and we need to not let a single battle distract us from the war."

"Hey, Abbey. Can I talk to you for a moment?" Daniel asked, softly interrupting her in front of the volunteers.

"Of course." She nodded, then back to the staffers. "Get back to work."

Daniel led her to his office. "Have you heard from Olivia?"

"Yes…" Abbey raised her eyebrow in confusion. "I talked to her this morning. Have you not?"

Daniel sighed, deeply. "No… I was wondering if you could give her a message for me."

"Why can't you just give it to her yourself?"

"Please, Abbey."

"Okay…" Abbey was beyond confused. Why would Olivia and Daniel not be talking? The last time she saw them together, it was the night of the California primary. They seemed fine with each other.

"Tell her I'm sorry. And that we really need to talk."

"What the hell is going on?"

"It's nothing, really. I just made a mistake."

"It wouldn't be nothing if she hasn't talked to you in three days." Abbey was fiercely protective of her boss and best friend. She knew it had to be something bad for Olivia to cut off communication with _her_ candidate. Abbey assumed that Olivia's spontaneous vacation had something to do with her telling Fitz that she was pregnant. Now, she wasn't so sure.

Daniel sighed, realizing that Abbey wasn't going to relay his message without getting more of the story. "Three nights ago, in Santa Monica, I had too much to drink."

"We all did. It was a good night."

"Yeah, well after everybody left the bar…" Daniel trailed off, running a hand through his hair. "It was just me and Olivia. I was way too drunk, and I… Kissed her."

"What?"

"She pulled back, and like some sick joke, Fitz was standing there. She ran after him, and, that's the last that I saw her." He left out the part about him following her to the beach. If Olivia hadn't told Abbey, then maybe this was more serious than he thought.

"That's some fucked up shit." Abbey said angrily towards Daniel.

"I know, I know…"

"Do you?" Abbey's temple flared. She was sure that Daniel didn't know that Olivia was pregnant, but that made the situation even more disgusting. "You just came on to a _married_ woman. A woman who has shown you nothing but the utmost professional respect. A woman who has made so many sacrifices _that you will never understand_ , to get you here on a national stage. A woman who is the most brilliant person in her field, certainly in all of Washington, hell, maybe the damn country, and maybe deserves the respect of being able to do her job without worrying about sexual assault."

"It wasn't assault." Daniel defended.

"Did she at any point make you believe that she wanted you to kiss her?"

"No, but I just thought that maybe—"

"Maybe what?"

Daniel was silent, rocking back on his feet. His shame was suffocating. "I think I love her."

Abbey was shocked. She quickly recovered herself. "You better never fix your mouth to say those words again."

"I can't help it."

"Fuck that." Abbey scoffed. "You can always help who you fall in love with. You are not the first client to fall in love with Olivia. Certainly won't be the last. You can either let this go, never look at Olivia in a romantic way again, and work your _damn_ hardest to making things right… Or you can drop out of the election."

"What? Are you crazy? I just won the Democratic nomination. I can't simply drop out."

"You might as well. It would save you the embarrassment. Because there is no way in hell you get more than 20% of America's vote without us."

"You would drop the campaign after everything we have accomplished?"

"I'm not interested in working in an environment where my boss feels uncomfortable." She crossed her arms. "Nor am I interested in representing a man who has no respect for woman's safety."

/

"I can start a load of laundry for you." Olivia said as they got into their home. Their impromptu vacation was a much needed refresher, but now they were back in D.C. Olivia was worried about what this meant, since her inevitable return to work would happen.

"Thanks." Fitz had a fast asleep Alex in his arms. "I'll put this one to bed."

"She needs a bath tonight." Olivia said.

"So you want to be the one to wake her up?" Fitz asked.

Olivia looked at their daughter. She didn't want to wake her up and risk a grumpy 4 year old, and she also didn't want to disturb her peace. She had an exhausting week after going to the beach and Disneyland and the flights. "Maybe she just needs her sleep. I'll be up in a minute to kiss her goodnight."

Olivia started a load of laundry of their clothes. When she returned upstairs, Fitz had Alex changed into her pajamas and fast asleep. They bought her a Minnie Mouse headband at the gift shop at Disneyland, and she had yet to let them take it off. Olivia figured it was okay to let her wear it one more night to bed.

"We should go to bed early tonight." Fitz said. "Fight the jetlag."

"It won't take me long to unpack." Olivia said, starting on the rest of her luggage.

Fitz sat on the edge of the bed, falling back in exhaustion. "It was nice to take Alex to Disneyland. It's like a rite of passage for kids."

"Now I just have to figure out how to pry those Minnie Mouse ears off of her in the morning so that I can do her hair."

Fitz chuckled deeply. He was exhausted, but he knew that he had to talk to Olivia. They might as well address the elephant in the room. "So you are going back to work tomorrow?"

"They need me." Olivia nodded. As refreshing as taking a week off from the campaign was, she had a mountain of work to get done at the office.

Fitz sat up, locking eyes with her. "I don't want you to work for Salas anymore."

"Fitz, don't." She went to return her shoes to the closet rack.

"I don't feel comfortable with you two working in close space."

"You need to trust me when I say that I am not going to cheat on you." Olivia stopped unpacking and knelt in front of him. She crossed her arms across his legs.

"It's not you that I'm worried about."

"I can't just quit when we are so close to winning."

"I don't give a damn if he ever steps foot in the White House." Fitz said harshly. "And I don't know why you are so intent on getting him there, after what he did."

"I'm not running this campaign for him." Olivia rolled her eyes, getting up and going back to her suitcase. She grabbed her toiletry bag, escaping to the bathroom to put the items away. She took her time, individually putting each makeup brush back in their place. She didn't want to have the usual _family_ vs. _work_ fight. She didn't notice Fitz standing in the doorway, watching her. "I am going to win this campaign for myself. For my team. You could cut, copy, paste any person into Daniel's shoes and I would still win."

"I trust you when you say that you haven't slept with Salas. I just don't want him around you 8-12 hours a day, when he clearly has feelings for you. Feelings that he feels entitled to act on despite the fact that you are married."

"I don't think he will do it again." Olivia said matter of fact-ly.

"You don't _think_."

"Look, Fitz." She turned around to face him "I don't want to go back to work tomorrow any more than you want me to. But I can't just quit. There are so many people that have worked hard on this campaign for it to go to waste. I can't let my team down like that. And yes, what happened with Daniel is unacceptable and it makes me uncomfortable to be around him – but I can't let one instance ruin all of my hard work."

Fitz knew that she was right. The only way he knew how to move past this whole situation was to cut her off from Daniel completely. Clearly, that was not realistic. Even if Olivia stepped down from the candidacy, there was a strong chance that Salas took the presidency anyways. They would be bound to run in the same circles. He ran a frustrated hand through his curls. Olivia reached forward to take his hands in hers, pulling him to her. He reluctantly took a couple of steps to fill the space between them. This was the most intimacy they had shared the entire week. Fitz had been keeping her at arm's distance ever since he saw Daniel kiss her. He was now in her zone. A place he was trying to avoid, because he knew that even her physical proximity would make him cave. Her perfume clouded his senses. He was entirely attentive to every shift of her body. She slowly took one of his hands to her stomach. It was as usual, toned, flat against his hand, but he thought about what it would feel like in a couple of weeks – months.

"I have too much to lose here." She whispered. She reached up to kiss him, but he tilted his head the slightest to let her know that he wasn't interested. She was too close to him – smelling too good. If anything, he needed more space. Olivia dropped his hand, taking a step back. "I'm going to bed now."

He waited until she left the bathroom to catch his breath.

/

"How are you doing?" Abbey said, slipping in behind Olivia in to her office.

Olivia set her purse down. "I'm fine."

Abbey gave her a questioning look. Olivia assumed that it was about her pregnancy. "Really, I'm fine. Taking it slow. With deep breaths." She touched her stomach. "I don't think the morning sickness is going to kick in for a couple more weeks, if at all."

"Daniel told me."

Olivia went silent, taking a seat. "Who else did he tell?"

"Just me, I think. He was worried that you weren't answering his calls, and wanted me to send his apologies to you. I told him that I wouldn't unless he told me what was going on… So, when I ask how you are doing, I want to know."

Olivia took a sip of her coffee, leaning back in her chair. "Fitz and I are on the rocks – _were_ on the rocks – now, I don't even know where we are."

"Does he know you are pregnant?"

Olivia nodded. "He's supportive of that, and it seems like that alone." She realized that she was getting too emotional for 9am on a Monday. "We just need time to work it out, that's all. Marriage has valleys and peaks, right?"

"Right…" Abbey said cautiously. "Look, I don't want to step out of any bounds here, but I when I talked to Daniel yesterday, he told me that he was in love with you."

Olivia groaned inwardly. This was exactly what she didn't need. She had hoped that his actions towards her were completely lustful and a result of his BAC. Now she had to figure out how to deal with his feelings. "Is that all he said?"

"Yes… I cut him off and put some fear of God into how pursuing these feelings for you would mean throwing away the presidency, because I refuse to work for him if he doesn't respect your marriage. I don't think that he will give you any problems."

"Thank you." Olivia took a deep sigh. "Is he here yet?"

"I haven't seen him." Abbey glanced through the glass of Olivia's office. "How are you going to handle this?"

"The way I always do…" Olivia shrugged with a little humor. "Compartmentalize and pretend nothing happened."

"If you need anything, let me know." Abbey gave her a confirming pat on the shoulder as she left her office.

/

Olivia had managed to avoid Daniel until past lunch. She sensed that he felt a lot of shame and wasn't ready to face her either. Yet the time came, when she needed him to approve a new ad going out on television.

"Someone get me Daniel." Olivia called from her office. A couple of seconds later, he came in.

"What can I do for you?" He asked nervously. So he was going to act like nothing happened either. Olivia thought. This makes it easier.

"I just need you to sign off on this." She turned her laptop around and played a 30 second spot. Daniel watched it intently.

"I think that it is fine." He shrugged. He caught a glimpse of doubt in Olivia's eye. "Wait… What do you think?"

"The music is too cheery. We need something more intense. Wallace is already trying to capitalize on your lack of military experience. We need something stately."

"Then send it back." Daniel said. "I agree."

"This is your campaign." Olivia reminded. "If you think that it is fine, then it will be on the air by tomorrow."

"I thought it was fine until I heard your explanation. Now I have changed my mind. It's fine."

"Fine." Olivia turned her computer back to face herself and sent her response to their videographer. "That's all."

Daniel hesitated for a moment. Olivia didn't look up, but she could tell that he was debating whether to say something or just leave. "I'm sorry."

 _Ugh_. _So he's not going to pretend like it didn't happen._ "Apology accepted." She said coolly, typing a memo into her laptop.

"I crossed the line, and I never meant to hurt you."

"I said apology accepted, which means you are forgiven." Olivia said again. She really wasn't interested in a long, drawn out forgive-fest. She knew that he was sorry. Dwelling on it would do no good.

"Can't we just talk about—"'

"I'm trying to move on." Olivia finally looked up. Every word was deliberate and unmistakable. "With my husband. I suggest you do the same."

"Fine." He surrendered, leaving the office.

"There is no room for love in the Oval. It's a lonely job." She said honestly as he was halfway out of her door. She moved her attention back to her computer, effectively ending the conversation.

/

Olivia left work earlier than she was supposed to. Fitz insisted on making a last minute appointment for her. He was – after all – department head. Olivia insisted that he didn't operate as her doctor through it. She needed him present with her as her husband, not doctor. She left early so that she could surprise him.

She rarely got to see him at work, and for good reason. She knew how the nurses gossiped. They were all fascinated with her. Any time she did stop by see him, she could hear their buzzing. She was too much of a distraction, and many of them were still hung up over the French President scandal. She went up to his office, finding him deeply engrossed in some paperwork. She took a moment to admire him in his white doctor's coat. He looked so serious and engrossed.

"Hi." She said softly, pulling his attention up.

"You are early." He smiled. "You are, like, never early."

"I wanted to surprise you."

"I'm surprised."

"What are you working on?" Olivia asked, sitting on the edge of his desk.

"Just some paper work." He said, rubbing his eyes. "The less glamorous bureaucracy of my job."

"Am I interrupting?"

"Not really." He set them on his desk and leaned back in his chair. "How are you feeling?"

She knew that he was asking more as a doctor than a husband. "Normal."

"How was work?" He asked, this time switching into husband mode.

"Normal."

"Did Daniel try anything?"

"Come on, Fitz. He's not a sexual predator. We talked about it briefly and decided that it was best to forget it ever happened."

"Good." Fitz said, shortly.

"How was your day?" Olivia offered, eager to change the subject.

"Normal." He replied with hint of humor.

Olivia moved to sit in his lap. He didn't stop her, but he wasn't as welcoming as he usually was. "I'm nervous about today."

"Don't be. You are coming to the _best_ prenatal care unit in the country."

"I don't know… I hear the department head is an ass." She teased, running her finger along the lapels of his doctor's coat.

"He can be tough to work with sometimes." He replied. "But I think you will be alright."

Olivia's phone buzzed, making her pull away from him. She checked it, before dismissing it and tossing it back in her purse. "We should start heading down there. I don't want to be late."

"Let me just put these files away." He nodded, cleaning up his desk. When he rose to follow her out of his office, she stopped him. "No coat."

"Come on, Liv."

"You are my husband, not my doctor. I don't want you intimidating my doctor."

"It's not like she doesn't know who I am… I'm kind of her boss."

" _Off_." Olivia rolled her eyes at his cockiness. He obeyed, leaving it hanging over his chair. When they started walking down the hall, Olivia intertwined her fingers in his. He could tell that she was trying to illicit physical responses from him at every opportunity. It was her way of showing him that she loved him and was trying to get him back. He wasn't sure if he was there yet, but he knew that she still needed comfort through this process as well.

They checked in and did all of the paperwork. Olivia forgot that Fitz knew all of her medical history from when she had Alex. She was secretly amazed that he got everything right when he helped her fill out the forms. After a short period of waiting, Dr. Strickland called them in to her room. Since Olivia used a different hospital for Alex, and she insisted that Fitz not be her doctor, she asked Fitz for a recommendation from his department. He assured her that Strickland was a perfect choice.

Once she was standing in front of them, Olivia wondered how much of that had to do with the fact that she was a woman – he had no problems with looking at women's private parts all day as a doctor, but he seemed to get uncomfortable at the thought of one of his male doctors looking up his wife's skirt. But Olivia soon found Dr. Strickland to be warm and welcoming, while maintaining a tone of assured control.

"What birth control have you been using?" She rattled off the list of questions down her clipboard.

"The pill."

"Have you had and miscarriages and/or abortions?"

"I miscarried over a year ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She said sincerely. "Was that pregnancy planned?"

Fitz was acutely aware of how Olivia's body tensed up at the mention of her miscarriage. He took her hand, squeezing it softly.

"No."

"Was this pregnancy planned?"

"No." Olivia admitted.

Dr. Strickland nodded, scribbling further into her clipboard. "You seem to be at a low risk from any initial complications. Let's get you through some tests to see how far along you are."

Fitz squeezed her hand tighter, this time for himself. "You are about to see the new technology for yourself. You see, usually you would have to get blood work, a urine test, and a pap smear to determine different risks. But now, all she is going to do is swab along your cervix – not unlike a pap smear. But it is going to give us even more information—"

"Fitz…" Olivia put her hand on his cheek to calm his excitement. "I would rather hear this from my doctor."

"Right." He nodded, thinking about how he was overstepping his bounds.

"Dr. Grant is not wrong. This will tell us how far along you are, among other things that I shouldn't bog you down with."

"When will we know the gender?"

"Around week 16-20." Fitz said, earning an elbow to his side.

"Around week 16-20, depending on the position of the fetus in the ultrasound." Dr. Strickland chuckled, putting on a pair of gloves. "Now this may feel uncomfortable, but I promise that it is nothing compared to the feeling of childbirth." She joked as she inserted a skinny wand into Olivia, strategically rotating it inside of her.

Olivia took a deep breath, trying not to feel awkward that her husband was intently watching a woman stick a foreign object into his wife's vagina with a look of excitement on his face. She pinched his arm, pulling his attention back to her side. The process was over after 30 seconds, and Olivia exhaled as the technology left her. Fitz kissed her hand in encouragement.

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes with the results. They will determine if you are far along enough to get an ultrasound."

"Thank you." Olivia nodded, leaning back on the bed once she had left.

"You gotta admit, that was pretty cool."

"I'll stick it up your vagina and see how you like it." Olivia joked. "You could add some vibration to it, and maybe you'd be going somewhere."

"Funny." He chuckled.

They were quiet for some time. Olivia finally brought Fitz's hand to lay across her stomach. "How far along do you think I am?"

"I don't know." Fitz admitted. "I wasn't there when you were pregnant with Alex. I can't detect any changes, so I'd have to say pretty early. 5 weeks? 4? Although your breasts do look bigger."

Olivia rolled her eyes at his last comment. "I can't tell if they are sensitive, or we just haven't had sex in two weeks."

Fitz cleared his throat when Dr. Strickland returned. "Everything is coming back negative – which is a good thing." She clarified at Olivia's concerned expression. "By that, I mean you are negative in HIV, Hepatitis C, the fetus is reporting negative in cystic fibrosis, sickle cell, and other conditions outlined on these sheets." She handed the papers over.

"How far along am I?"

"11 weeks."

"Ele—I'm sorry, what?"

"I am shocked that you haven't noticed any signs before. It is not unusual for women to go longer without realizing, but there are some early symptoms. Bloating, for example."

"I have been traveling a lot, lately. I've felt a little off, but I assumed it was jetlag and exhaustion." Olivia admitted.

"Well, like I said, it is not unusual, nor is your baby at a disadvantage." She handed her some more pamphlets, although Dr. Strickland suspected that Fitz had them all memorized. "Speaking of travel, these are some recommendations for what to do and not do during your pregnancy. Since this is your second pregnancy, I am sure that you are familiar with these already. I will let you read them on your own time. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me."

"Can we get the ultrasound?" Fitz asked.

"That is next on the to-do list." She handed over a few more papers. "You can fill these papers out for your next appointment while the technician gets ready." She left them to be alone again.

"Fuck." Olivia was the first to speak after a lengthy silence.

Fitz couldn't help but crack a smile.

"How could you not notice I was pregnant?" Her hand flew out to hit him in the chest.

"Me? You are the one who is undergoing _changes_."

"Yeah, but it is your job to notice that I am bloated and shit."

"I just thought you were eating well on the campaign trail." He laughed heartily. She couldn't help but join in. They finally settled down into an awed silence.

"I can't believe I was pregnant for almost a full trimester and didn't know it." She whispered.

"When did you know with Alex?"

"Early. 4 weeks in. But she was difficult. I had morning sickness and intense nausea. It's like she wanted to remind me every day that she had control over my body."

"At least she is an easy child out of the womb." He shrugged.

"So what does that say about this one?" Olivia had so many questions about her pregnancy all of the sudden. Doubts started creeping in. She obviously had drunk a lot of wine in the last few months. Nothing excessive, since she had been so busy with the primaries, but she was concerned anyways. She didn't want to bring them up in that moment. With her doctor within minutes of returning with an ultrasound, and her and Fitz sharing a moment seemingly unaffected by their previous week of trouble, she buried her insecurities deep and focused on the present.

Before she knew it, her stomach was exposed, and a technician was rubbing cool jelly on her abdomen. Olivia gasped when the static image appeared on the screen. Her grasp on Fitz's hand intensified.

"Remember how I said you couldn't be a doctor with me? You had to be my husband?" She whispered intensely.

"Yes."

"I take that back." She said quickly. "Tell me what I am looking at."

Fitz, glad to give his input, motioned to the screen. "That right there looks to be the head. You can almost make out its features."

Olivia stared intently at the fuzzy shapes. In the back of her mind, she thought about the last time she was holding his hand and looking at a similar screen. Only then, it was blank. Now, there were clearly definable shapes.

"How big is it?"

"Slightly smaller than a lime."

"Does anything look unhealthy?" She was almost too scared to ask. Her voice trembled with the question.

"From my point of view, everything looks perfect." He said. His eyes darted from her to the screen, back to her.

"I will show these to Dr. Strickland." The technician said, leaving them alone.

"Fuck." Olivia said, relaxing into the bed again.

"That is the second time you have said that today." He grabbed some napkins to wipe the substance from her stomach.

"I'm just overwhelmed." She admitted, pulling her shirt back down. It was a different overwhelmed than it was with Alex. Now, she was just in awe and shock and awe again. It was all a little too much.

"Don't overthink anything." He kissed her hand. "Not every woman gets to have the professional insight that your husband has."

"You are just loving the opportunity to flash your M.D. in this process."

"It took me 8 years of education to accomplish." He reminded. "Plus my residency, which was—"

"Okay, I get it." She chuckled at his cheekiness, easing her worries. "I am glad that you are here. There is no man I would rather be knocked up by."

/

"I feel like I should be used to seeing your team here late at night, but it still gets me sometimes."

"They are only here tonight because I told them to." Olivia reminded. "I feel like I shouldn't have to formally announce my pregnancy."

"It is best for you to tell everybody yourself, rather than have rumor circulate."

"I know, I know. It just all feels so sudden. We only found out two weeks ago." Truth be told, she could still wait a little longer. But she wanted them to know before she started transitioning into looser clothes to conceal it.

"Breathe." Fitz put his hands on either side of her face. "Don't overthink."

"Right." Olivia walked into the conference room, where the rest of her team was. It was after hours, so all of the non-essential staff had left. David was there, but Olivia assumed Abbey had already told him about her pregnancy. "I want to tell you guys something. Not only because you all are my extended family, but because I trust all of you. I need this news to spread tastefully and carefully, okay?"

They nodded.

"I am pregnant."

Quinn clapped excitedly. Marcus reached to shake Fitz's hand and hug Olivia. Huck nodded, forcing a smile. He was so uncomfortable around emotions like this that Olivia understood.

Usually when Fitz was around her team, they were hard at work. She was barking orders at them, and they were obeying every word. But now that he saw them relaxed, he realized how much of a family they were to her. He understood why she was okay with working late nights. They popped a couple of bottles of champagne, and everyone except for Olivia enjoyed a glass or two.

Daniel walked in the door, coming to retrieve an unfinished speech he left there earlier. He expected the office to be quiet – except for maybe one or two late night workers. He was surprised to see everybody there, seemingly relaxed and in casual conversation.

He saw Fitz standing with his arm protectively along Olivia's waist, and he considered leaving before anybody noticed him. He had not seen Fitz since that night in California. He could imagine that he was Fitz's least favorite person in the world. Even though he still had feelings for Olivia, he was trying his hardest to put them behind him. He was trying to adjust to the fact that even though he found the most beautiful, smart, incredible woman in the world, she was taken and he signed up for the loneliest job in the world.

Abbey noticed him first, and the laugh fell off of her face. She had been treating him with a cold shoulder too, since his mistake came to her attention. Quinn was the second person to notice him. She lit up at the sight of him, motioning him to enter the conference room.

"Daniel! Come on in. Liv has some exciting news." At that point, there was no room to escape. Everyone turned to face him. He awkwardly nodded, entering the room. "She's pregnant." Quinn continued.

"Congratulations." He said, awkwardly.

"Thank you." Olivia smiled politely. It was not lost on Abbey or Olivia how Fitz's fists clenched at his side. Olivia reached for one hand, nonchalantly, forcing her fingers in between his so that he would unball his fist. She looked up into his eyes, desperate to pull his attention away from Daniel.

"We are very excited." Fitz said tersely, not taking his eyes off of Daniel. He possessively set his hand on Olivia's stomach, as if to claim his territory.

"I just came by to grab a speech I left behind. I don't mean to intrude or anything." Daniel quickly grabbed the draft from the edge of the conference table, retreating.

"Come on…" Marcus extended the bottle in his hand. "You are OPA family. Come, enjoy a drink."

"I shouldn't." Daniel apologized. "I have work to do."

"You can take a break for a bit." Quinn piped in, grabbing him a glass. "The draft can wait until the morning."

Daniel's eyes were on Olivia. Olivia's eyes were on Fitz. Fitz's eyes were on Daniel, in a steely, hard gaze.

"I should—" Daniel began to refuse again.

"Stay." Olivia said, not taking her eyes from Fitz's. Fitz finally darted his eyes down to Olivia's. "If you excuse us, we need a minute." She dragged Fitz into her office.

"No." Fitz said the second her office door closed.

"Please, act grown." Olivia said, her body language not matching up with her tone. She was aware of Abbey's unwavering gaze at them. She was aware of how Daniel – despite trying to seem present around her oblivious co-workers was sneaking glances at them.

"Why is he here?"

"I don't know… Maybe, because he is our client?" Olivia put her hand on his waist, drawing him closer. Every word she said was a contradiction to her actions. She wanted to be hostile, but she knew that she couldn't cause a scene. She knew that Abbey knowing about Daniel's advances was enough exterior people peeping on her private life. She didn't need the whole office knowing about how rocky her private life was, and how awkward her professional life was.

"After hours?"

"If I knew he was going to be here, I wouldn't have invited everybody else to share our news." She said honestly, pulling his hand to her stomach. "You heard him. He just came by to pick up a draft."

Fitz was silent, looking past her. Even though his hands were not clenched, his entire body language was a clenched fist.

"Loosen up." Olivia hoisted herself up on her tip toes to kiss his chin. "Just enjoy the beginning of a new era between us." When Fitz did not respond, she pressed their bodies even closer. "I'm here with you."

Fitz nodded, rubbing his hand softly along her stomach. Her baby bump was just barely there. Barely visible, but different to the touch. Every time he felt it, he was reminded of what they were doing. That was enough for her to take his hand, and lead her back into the conference room.

"As I was saying…" Daniel began, once they re-entered the room. "I should go home. This draft can wait until the morning, but I am beat." He raised his glass in a salute. "Thank you for the drink. Congratulations. I wish you the best."

Fitz was just as tense as before. Olivia realized that he was not going to relax. After Daniel left, normal conversation resumed. "I think I might head home too." Olivia admitted. "I'm tired."

Everyone understood. After all, she was the pregnant one. She grabbed her purse and Fitz's arm. Before they left, Abbey grabbed Olivia's arm, giving her a ' _you good?_ ' look. Olivia nodded.

They exited the office building. Olivia turned, with Fitz's hand in hers - she was sure not to let go of it the entire night - but Fitz saw Daniel waiting by the curb for his Uber.

"Fitz…" Olivia warned, putting her hand against his chest. She knew how he was heated around the mere mention of Daniel. He held it in while they were around Olivia's co-workers, but now there was nobody else around.

"Salas." He called. Olivia tried to pull back on his hand, but he didn't relent. He kept her hand in his, but kept on his path towards Daniel.

Daniel turned towards them with wide eyes. He was terrified of Fitz, and it showed in all of the wrong places.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" Fitz asked, approaching at a dangerous speed to Daniel. Olivia tried to keep up, pulling back on his arm, and positioning herself between them.

"Dude, I am so sorry. I was drunk. I wasn't thinking." Daniel apologized. He held his hands up in a surrendering position.

"Damn right, you weren't." Fit snarled, getting closer. He was just two steps away from striking distance. Olivia put her arm across Fitz's waist, her eyes begging him to let it go.

"Fitz, I swear to God. Let's go." Olivia warned. She had one arm across his stomach, and the other, clamoring for his right hand - just in case he chose to swing. She was trying to appear calm, while also sternly communicating with Fitz that he needed to walk away.

"I was in the moment, I didn't realize -" Daniel continued to apologize.

"That you were coming on to a married woman?" Fitz challenged.

"Let it go." Olivia begged. The whole situation made her uncomfortable. She just wanted to get in their car and go home to her bed. She couldn't tell if it was the tense situation in front of her, or the baby inside of her, but she felt nauseous. Her eyes kept darting up and down the street. The last thing she needed was for the conservative media to obtain a cell phone video of the presidential candidate getting decked by his campaign manager's husband.

Daniel didn't respond to Fitz's question. Instead, he looked at Olivia in a mistaken look. He couldn't quite let go of his feelings for her. The way he wanted her. The way he imagined himself making her happy. The way he longed for her.

"That's what I fucking thought, you scum." Fitz connected a hook to his jaw. Daniel fell back, stumbling into parking meter.

" _Fitz_." Olivia screamed in shock. Fitz shook his hand off, taking a few steps back. Daniel recovered, rubbing his jaw that would no doubt sport a gruesome bruise in the morning. Fitz stood there menacingly. Like he was ready to pounce again. Only Daniel held his hands up in a surrendering position. And Olivia wasn't to be seen. He turned around to see the last of her coat disappearing into the parking garage. Fitz left Daniel at the curb to go chase her.

"Liv…"

"No." She said, keeping her pace steady ahead of his to her car.

"Wait…" He begged.

By then, Olivia was at her car. She opened the front door, sliding in the driver's seat. "I'm going home."

Fitz caught the door, but Olivia shot him a scathing look. "Hold on a minute."

Olivia shut the door, narrowly missing his fingers. She put the car in reverse, pulling out, and leaving Fitz there alone.

He stood there in shock. He had nothing to do, but wait for a couple of minutes He didn't want to run into Daniel on the sidewalk again. He decided to walk home instead. She only worked a ten minute walk away from their home, and he thought maybe they both needed some time to cool down. When he got into their townhome, he noticed the babysitter was long gone. Olivia must have paid her in the time it took him to go home. He found her in the bedroom, lights off, seemingly asleep. He laid across the top of the bedding, softly nudging her shoulder to get him to roll over and look at him.

"Don't." She muttered.

"I'm sorry."

"No you aren't." She pushed his hand away from her.

Fitz sighed, propping himself up on his elbows. "You can't deny that that punch was well deserved."

"Maybe it was, but that doesn't mean it wasn't stupid." She snapped. "You are lucky nobody was around with their snapchats open."

"I'm sorry." He put his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't believe you." She rolled over further, shutting him off.

He sighed, dropping his hands to his side. "How are you?"

"Pissed at my dumbass of a husband." Olivia muttered, wondering why he would ask her that.

"No, I mean… I never asked you if you were okay after he kissed you. You were assaulted."

"I'm fine." Olivia said sharply.

"Livvie…"

"Don't you dare turn this back around on me. You embarrassed me tonight, and now I am mad. I want to go to sleep."

Fitz realized that she wasn't going to say anything more about that. "What do you need from me?"

"I need you to believe me, when I say that there is nothing between Daniel and me."

"I believe that from you, but you should have seen the way that he was looking at you."

"Like what?" Olivia challenged, rolling over to face him.

"Like… Like he was in love with you."

"So what?"

"What do you mean, _so what_?"

"I mean, whose child am I carrying?"

"Mine…" He admitted, once he realized she wasn't asking a rhetorical question.

"Who am I married to?"

"Me."

"And who did I ask to adopt my daughter?" She said with finality. Even though the lights were off, he could still tell exactly what expression was on her face.

"Me." He said.

"Fitz…" She lifted her pam to his cheek. "You need to stop doubting me-"

"I don't doubt you, I doubt the people around you-"

"Do you think I would let anyone come between us?" Olivia lifted her head to look at him.

Fitz was silent. He knew the answer. He knew that he shouldn't have let his temper and pride get the best of him. "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted."

Fitz leaned in to softly kiss her. His lips brushed against hers, silently requesting more access. She held him off, not reacting the way he had hoped. She was still heated from their fight. But, it had been weeks since they last made love. She knew that Fitz wouldn't fuck her until he felt at peace with the whole Salas situation. Maybe tonight was the hyper masculine ruffling of feathers that he needed. Nonetheless, the way he slowly grabbed a fistful of her hair at the nape of her neck was making her forget why she was so angry.

Finally, she parted her lips, giving him the green light he needed. She squirmed under the pressure of his kiss, kicking the bedding down to give her more room. She was wearing one of his t shirts and lacey underwear. He slid his hand up her shirt, memorizing every inch of her new stomach. He kept his hand moving further up, gently cupping her breast.

"Fuck." Olivia gasped, arching her back. He knew that her breasts were incredibly sensitive at this time, and she knew that he knew. Clearly, this was his way of apologizing. She struggled to free her legs from the sheets and wrap them around his waist, grinding herself against him.

Fitz stilled her hips with his hand, determined to be in control. He kissed slowly along her stomach, making it clear that he had plans further south. He delicately pulled her lacey panties off, kissing her inner thighs as the material slid down her legs.

"You better enjoy this." Olivia smirked. "Because pretty soon, I'm going to get fat and mean."

"I'm pretty sure that I will enjoy it then, too." Fitz murmured, lowering his mouth to her clit. He worked her to a rapid orgasm. He was amazed by how responsive pregnancy made her body. When Mellie was pregnant with Jerry and Karen, she didn't want to be touched at all. But Olivia's sexual appetite was multiplied by her pregnancy hormones. Once she finished, she grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him up to her.

"Take off your clothes." She whispered hotly into his mouth as she slid her tongue along his. He stood up from the bed, taking his clothes off as fast as he could without ripping them. Olivia pulled her t shirt over her head, and he was convinced that nothing was as sexy as the sight of her full breasts jiggling at the movement of her arms. When he kicked his boxers off of his feet, Olivia pushed him to lay flat on the bed.

She intertwined one of her hands in his, using the other to stroke him up to her entrance. Fitz palmed her ass as she lowered herself onto him, filling herself completely. Her face contorted in pleasure as she slowly began to rock back and forth. Everything about this felt so good to him. Her breasts were perked right in front of him, so he leaned forward, kissing the gap between them.

She threw her head back, moaning something incoherent, and Fitz thought he was going to lose it right there. No matter how mad he has been with her the last couple of weeks, he couldn't deny the primal reaction he had to her. He buried his face into the crook of her neck, sucking and kissing her tender skin. That was all he could do to keep from blowing early. He could feel Olivia tensing, her thighs shaking with exhaustion. He grabbed her hips roughly, pulling her down on him even more. She lasted two more, before she arched her back letting her second orgasm crash into her. Fitz bucked his hips up, letting loose into her.

"Fuck." He moaned as he fell back on the bed. He pulled the covers back, pulling both of them beneath it. Olivia curled up against his chest.

She absentmindedly played with the hairs on his chest. "How is your hand?"

"What?"

"Did you ice your hand after the punch?"

"It's fine." Fitz pulled his hand out from under the covers and examined it. He had such a high adrenaline rush before that he didn't even think about it. It was still stinging slightly, but it wasn't swelling and nothing was broken. "You know, I could have punched him much harder."

"Mhmm, I'm sure you could have." Olivia said with slight teasing. After laying there in silence for a little while longer, Olivia spoke up again. "And I am okay… After the incident with Daniel." She paused, realizing that what healing she needed from the incident was knowing that her and Fitz were going to be okay . "Well... I am now."

Fitz kissed her hair. "Good."

"We are okay, right?"

"Yes. We are."


	23. Chapter 23

**Yooo, so thanks for the reviews. There is one thing I would like to address, however. Many of the reviews and PMs suggest strong beliefs that Olivia should not work for Daniel anymore. You guys are completely justified in your beliefs. However – let me explain why I couldn't do that.**

 **I don't think it's fair for Olivia's career to suffer because of the actions of one man. Even though Daniel is the one gaining the Oval, OPA is also gaining a lot from their work. I don't think that she has a bigger "duty" to her family, because I think that sends a message that women can't have both a career and family. Is it easy? No. But that is one dynamic of their relationship that I like to explore.**

 **Y'all are entitled to your own thoughts and that's perfectly fine. Not saying that you are wrong. But that is my hot take on it lol.**

 **Back to the story:**

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked when she saw Fitz at the door of her office. The campaign was in a different state, so the office was relatively empty. Just a few D.C. volunteers who had been working for Olivia since the start.

"I had a meeting downtown. Wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine." Olivia said, trying not to shoot him a look. As her pregnancy progressed, he was constantly checking up on her, whether through text messages or in person. She motioned for him to come in, tidying up her desk. She went to take some old papers to the shredder in the other corner of her office.

"Don't your feet hurt?" He asked, looking at her high heels.

"They always hurt, babe. It is part of wearing heels."

"I don't want any of your feet pain to cause back pain. Especially with—"

"Fitz, I swear to God, if you don't quit smothering me." Olivia said in a humored, but serious tone.

"Sorry, sorry." He held his hands up in surrender. "Are you sure nothing feels different?"

Olivia went to sit on his lap. She knew her office walls were made of glass, but she also trusted these particular volunteers to mind their own business. "I feel pregnant." He moved his hand to softly caress her stomach. The definable bump that made him so happy. Olivia had transitioned into looser, flowy shirts to hide it, but everybody in the office – campaign even – knew. "Maybe it is because my pants are snugger than the last time I wore them. Maybe because the last time I went this long without a glass of wine was when I was pregnant with Alex, and I am going through familiar withdrawal." She said with a smirk. "But I feel pregnant."

"How so?" He asked softly.

"I just do… I don't know."

"Will you tell me when things change?"

"Jesus, Fitz. I think you want to be pregnant yourself more than I do." She joked.

"I'm just in awe. That is all." Fitz wasn't lying. Ever since he realized Olivia was the one for him, he imagined what it would be like when she carried his child. He never fully expressed how much he wanted it, because he knew it would scare her away. But now that it was happening, he couldn't help himself. He wanted to know everything that was going on.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to work?" Olivia asked – not as a means to get rid of him – but out of general curiosity. She vacated his lap, moving to go check on the people in her conference room. They were all busy, heads buried in their work.

"Probably." He watched her check through the glass. "If I am interrupting something, I can leave."

"No, I just wanted to make sure nobody was watching when I did this." She leaned down to him, capturing his lips in hers.

He welcomed her kiss, sliding his hand around her ass and pulling her back into his lap. Olivia moaned unexpectedly. If there was something she missed from being pregnant with Alex was the hormones. Every place Fitz touched her turned her on. He followed her cues, realizing that she was open to more than just a simple kiss. He softly cupped one of her breasts through her shirt.

"Ah…" She gasped, pulling back. It was the perfect mix of pleasure and pain, but she knew that it would lead to dangerous places.

"Sorry." He apologized, pulling his hand back. He forgot about how sensitive her breasts had been.

"It's fine." Olivia realized she was still sitting in his lap and his hair was sticking straight up from her hands. "We should stop."

"Probably." He admitted, fixing his hair. "I should let you get back to work."

"Probably." Olivia repeated his words with a hint of sadness. "Thank you for stopping by." She pecked him carefully on the lips, so that they wouldn't start again. "I'll see you tonight." She whispered, making his dick twitch in his pants.

/

Olivia woke up at some time in the middle of the night. She was confused by the fact that Fitz's arms weren't around her. She rolled over to find him, but instead was met with Alex's body between them.

"Ow." Alex whispered when she was almost crushed by her mother.

"Sorry." Olivia scooted back. She saw Fitz asleep on his stomach, his curls shooting wildly from the pillow where his head was buried. She envied his deep sleep. Alex was curled up in a fetal position, how she usually slept. She was grateful that she and Fitz got in the habit of putting pajamas back on after having sex, because they never knew when Alex would crawl in their bed "When did you get here?" She asked Alex in a soft whisper.

"I had a bad dream." Alex explained.

"I'm sorry." Olivia kissed her forehead. "Do you think you can go back to sleep."

Alex shook her head. Olivia could tell that she whatever her dream was, it really shook her up.

"I know what will make this better. Come on." Olivia carefully removed herself from the bed. Alex followed, taking her hand. She led her to the kitchen, picking her up and setting her on the counter. She put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and poured them some water. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Alex shook her head, tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry." Olivia was so confused by her behavior. She pulled Alex into a hug, rubbing her back. "Some dreams are too scary to talk about, and that's okay."

"Do you have bad dreams?" Alex sniffled.

"Sometimes." Olivia admitted.

"What do you do?"

"I eat some popcorn. Talk to Daddy. Remind myself it was just a dream, and it wasn't real." Olivia smoothed Alex's curls down. The microwave beeped, letting her know that their midnight snack was finished. She poured the popped kernels into a bowl and held them out to Alex. She observed her daughter closely as she ate a few pieces, slowly calming down.

"If I ask you something, can you promise not to tell Daddy?" Alex whispered. Her beautiful eyes were wide and scared.

"Of course." Olivia held out her pinky to promise her. Alex's tiny pinky finger wrapped around hers in an unbreakable bond.

"Does Daddy love the new baby more than me?" She asked, wiping a tear from her cheek. Her eyes didn't leave Olivia's belly.

"Of course not." Olivia gently tilted Alex's head up until she looked her in her eyes. "Daddy loves you so very much."

"But this baby is his." Alex was trying really hard not to cry again. Her bottom lip trembled and her shoulders slumped. "And I'm not."

"You are his, Alex. And he loves not _only_ because you are his, but because you are the coolest, most awesome kid we know."

"No I'm not." She huffed. She crossed her arms and began to rock back and forth. It was a trait Oliva noticed she did whenever she felt overwhelmed or anxious.

"I don't know any other 4 year old who can swim as fast as you. Or color as pretty as you."

"Really?"

"Really." Olivia confirmed. "And even though it is nasty, I can't even burp as loud as you."

Alex giggled at her logic.

"And do you want to know what you have that this baby will never have?"

"What?" Her eyes widened in anticipation.

"You are my firstborn. Do you know what that means?"

Alex shook her head.

"You are the first baby I ever made. You are the oldest, which means you will always be smarter than this new baby. And you will help her or him learn how to swim, or color, or even burp."

Alex yawned deeply, trying to keep her eyes open. "What if the new baby don't love me?"

"How could they not?" Olivia feigned shock. "You are the coolest kid I've ever met, remember?"

They finished the popcorn and Olivia carried her back to bed. Between her baby bump, Alex, and Fitz still asleep in oblivion, she found it difficult to get comfortable. She finally settled on her back, with Alex curled in a ball at her side. She stroked Alex's back until she heard her breathing deepen. Olivia soon followed into sleep.

/

 **AUGUST**

"Fitz, I can rub some damn shea butter into my skin myself."

"I know." He smiled, ignoring her attitude. He put a small amount on his fingertips, rubbing it along her 22 week old baby bump. Bump was a kind word. There was no question at a glance from strangers that she was pregnant. She missed her old clothes. She missed the taste of red wine. She missed the sleep she used to get lying on her stomach. Now, even cuddling with Fitz was complicated. She couldn't nestled into his side at night, without her belly making an intrusion. Most importantly, she missed the rough sex they used to have. He was so tender with her now, that she craved when he used to bite her shoulder and pull her hair. But she couldn't complain. He was incredibly attentive to her throughout her pregnancy. Overbearing at times, but always there.

"Pretty soon, you will have to be painting my toenails for me, because I won't be able to touch them."

"You are over halfway there." He kissed her bump.

"I have to pee." Olivia rolled her eyes, getting out of bed. Fitz chuckled to himself. Olivia was fortunate to have an easy pregnancy. But the one thing that irritated her the most was how often she had to pee. It was like the baby was standing right on her bladder, stomping at thirty minute intervals. Olivia returned from the bathroom with tears framing eyes.

"What is it?" Fitz immediately was at her side, guiding her to the edge of the bed to sit.

"This." Olivia took his hand and put it to her stomach. Sure enough, it was the first of many kicks.

"Wow." He gasped. "Does it hurt?"

"No. It is just uncomfortable." Olivia admitted. Fitz kissed her shoulder, keeping his hand on where the kicks were coming from. She leaned her head against his, until the movements finally stopped.

"Are you ready?" Fitz asked, trying to control the excitement in his voice.

"Yes." Olivia nodded, keeping true to her promise. Fitz had to be patient with Olivia's anxieties around her pregnancy. One of them, was that she didn't want to know the gender until she felt the first kick. She was worried that knowing the gender would allow them to fantasize about the child's life too soon. She wanted concrete proof inside of her that the fetus was healthy and progressing. Fitz had to respect that, even though the sealed envelope was burning a hole in her dresser.

He wasted no time retrieving the envelope, opening it in front of her. He held the envelope so that only she could see it, waiting for her to say the sex.

"It's a boy." She gasped. Fitz couldn't speak. Instead, he just planted kisses on Olivia's cheek. "This makes things so much more complicated." She whispered, once she recovered from her shock.

"How so?"

"With your genes… He's going to be sweeping girls from day care. Do you know how stressful that is going to be? I'm not prepared to have the birds and bees talk with my son."

"And here I thought girls were harder." Fitz laughed a deep chuckled.

"And you two are going to gang up on me so much." Olivia accused with humor.

"Now that, I can't even deny." Fitz offered a lopsided grin.

/

Vitamins." Fitz reminded, holding them out for her.

"Thanks." She popped them in her mouth, chasing it with a gulp of water. "Do you think that we could sit down tonight to talk about the nursery? I want to get everything finalized while the campaign is on a break."

"I should be able to wrap up drinks I have scheduled with some of my doctors in time." He kissed her temple, letting his lips linger against her hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Pregnant." Olivia deadpanned, making him chuckle.

"I love you." He softly rubbed circles into her lower back.

"I love you too." Olivia murmured.

"How do you think Alex will do at Pre-K today?"

"I don't know. I know she is excited." Olivia said, "Hopefully, she can keep her anxiety in check."

"Jerry cried the entire time I dropped him off. Karen barely said goodbye before running off." Fitz chuckled at the memories.

"I don't know which one I would prefer more." Olivia mused. "Am I turning into one of those weepy moms that wants her baby to stay young forever?"

"If so, I find it very attractive." He mumbled against her lips, shamelessly kissing her. He slid his hands around her ass, holding her cheeks firmly in his hands. He loved the way her body was consistently changing. Her ass was undeniably getting bigger against his hands.

"Make Alex late for Pre-K, I dare you." Olivia challenged with a raised eyebrow.

"You are right." Fitz sighed, backing away. He knew that if she had given him an inch, he would have hoisted her on to the bathroom counter and had his way. "I'll go get her bath started. You can finish getting ready."

By the time Olivia finished getting ready, Fitz had Alex bathed and dressed. Olivia just had to do her hair. All throughout breakfast, Alex rambled about all of the things she knew and was excited to tell her teachers. She was so intelligent, that she was already reading independently. Alex practiced her numbers and letters meticulously over the summer, even though Olivia knew that most kids came into Pre-K with less preparation.

"Are you ready, big girl?" Olivia asked, clearing Alex's breakfast plates.

"Yes!" Alex exclaimed, grabbing her glittery Doc McStuffins backpack that Olivia let her pick out. The only thing she needed for pre-K was pencils and crayons, but she was so excited when she saw it in the store, that Olivia had to get it for her.

"Alright, then let's go." Olivia grabbed her hand, leading her out of the door, letting Fitz kiss both of them goodbye.

In the car, Alex was confident and rambling on about how excited she was. However, when Olivia pulled up to the school, Alex's eyes got bigger and her shoulders slumped down. Olivia parked her car and unbuckled Alex's car seat. When Alex didn't pop out of her seat, Olivia was concerned.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to go."

"You don't want to go? What do you mean? You have been so excited about this."

"I can't go." Alex's eyes widened even more, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. "Charlie isn't there."

Charlie was her best friend from the day care. His mom insisted on enrolling him in a private school – something Olivia was very much against. Most of the private schools in D.C. were overwhelmingly white washed and too protective of their students. She had done fine in the public school system, and they were zoned for a great school that was diverse, too. Fitz was against this, since he enrolled both Karen and Jerry in private school. They compromised with promising to open up the conversation when she was ready for middle school.

Olivia watched as her beautiful daughter became distressed. This had happened before. Alex had the tendency to overwhelm herself with her own thoughts. She was seconds away from tears, so Olivia immediately pulled her into a hug to diffuse the situation. "It's okay. Just take a moment. Breathe."

Alex let a couple of soft cries out as she buried herself in Olivia's neck. She was so tiny, that Olivia was sure that she would be the smallest kid in her class. She watched as other moms and dads walked their little kids into the school building. Olivia finally pulled back to talk to Alex. Alex had silent tears running down her face, her tiny chest taking ragged breaths in and out.

"What is 2+2?" Olivia asked.

"Four." Alex sniffled.

Olivia reached for a tissue from her console, wiping Alex's face. "Say something in Spanish."

"Hola, como estas?" Alex said, confused as to why she was being asked this.

"Who is the cutest girl in the world?"

Alex looked down at her feet, not looking at Olivia.

"Alex, I asked you a question."

"I am." She mumbled.

"I didn't hear you."

"I am." She said louder, finally connecting her wide, chocolate eyes to Olivia's.

"That's right. Now why is such a smart, beautiful girl like you stressed over school? They are going to love you."

"But what if they don't?"

"Then you give them time to get to know you." Olivia smoothed out Alex's hair, wiping her face again. "Now, are you ready to go dazzle them with your brilliance?"

Alex nodded, sliding out of her car seat. Olivia walked her into her class room, introducing herself and Alex to the teacher. Olivia now understood why parents could be so hovering and overprotective of their children. She watched as Alex went to go sit down by herself, fidgeting with her shoelaces. Olivia was worried, until she saw another kid go over to her and start talking. That was enough for Olivia to be okay with leaving Alex alone for the day. Hopefully, when she picked her up in the afternoon, Alex would have reports of a great day.

/

 **OCTOBER**

"Hey, pretty lady." Olivia greeted Alex as her daughter climbed into her car in the pickup line. Traffic was always a nightmare around the school, so Olivia tried to be the first in the line so that she could make a quick exit. "Buckled up?"

Alex nodded in her rear view mirror. Olivia asked her about her day as she drove back to her office. Alex was being unusually quiet, barely sharing any details about how her show and tell went. She had brought in some pottery she had made at one of those children's pottery places where they glaze your final creation. Olivia wondered if her presentation went over well.

Back at the office, Olivia let Alex color and entertain herself while she finished up some work. She looked up at one point to see Alex pulling her hair down with her fists until her curls were stretched to a straight line.

"Alex, baby, don't pull you hair like that. You are going to pull it all out."

Alex released her hair and watched bounce back to its curly state. "Mommy, can I straighten my hair?" she asked tugging her curls straight again in the mirror.

"Why would you want to do that?" Olivia asked. "You have beautiful hair."

Alex went silent, dropping her hands from her hair.

Olivia put down the papers in her hand, looking at Alex closer. "Alex, what is wrong?"

"Nothing." She mumbled.

"Come here." Olivia could tell that something was eating her away. Alex walked around Olivia's desk so that she was at Olivia's side. "You have beautiful hair." She repeated.

"If I am black like you." Alex said softly, casting her eyes to her feet. "And white like Daddy… Then why do I have to look black?"

Those words were like a knife to Olivia's gut. She looked at Alex, trying not to show her how much her words hurt her. She knew that Alex didn't understand what she just said. How could she? She was probably absorbing some anti-blackness at school from her peers and internalizing it. "Because Black is beautiful." Olivia said in an assured voice. She waited until Alex finally looked back up and into her eyes. "And nobody should ever make you feel like you aren't. There are people out there that will look at you differently because you are black, and they aren't worth your time. Do you understand me?"

Alex didn't nod her head in understanding. She shifted back and forth on each foot.

"Do you think that Tanya is ugly?" Olivia referred to one of her friends that she knew was Black.

"No."

"Do you think that Doc McStuffins is ugly?"

"No."

"Do you think that Beyoncé is ugly?"

"No."

"Do you think that I am ugly?"

"No." Alex sniffled slightly.

"So why would you be?" Olivia asked. Alex wrapped her arms around Olivia's neck when she pulled her into a tight hug. She looked at her reflection in the mirror that hung on the side of her office, her moistened eyes and her daughter's small wrapped in her arms. She was suddenly faced with the reality of her daughter growing up as biracial. She was going to come to terms with race and her identity in the next couple of years. Olivia thought about her own internalized anti-blackness that she held when she was young. Once her parents were gone, she had no solid role model to instill in her a pride for her skin tone. It was a rough battle for her with years of insecurities. Eventually, Harrison and she figured it out for themselves. But she always wondered how her life would have been different if she figured it out earlier.

She never wanted Alex to feel inferior, and it hurt her immensely that it was already starting to permeate her young life.

"I love you." Olivia whispered, taking a deep breath to control her emotions before pulling back. "Can you repeat after me?"

Alex nodded meekly.

"Black is beautiful."

"Black is beautiful."

"I am beautiful."

"I am beautiful."

"I am beautiful because I am Black."

"I am beautiful because I am Black."

"I am Black because I am beautiful."

"I am Black because I am beautiful."

/

 **ELECTION NIGHT, NOVEMBER**

"Why don't we have anybody on the ground in Florida right now?" Olivia growled.

"What good would that do?" Marcus reminded. "We are just waiting on the results. People have already voted. There is literally nothing to do except for voter fraud."

A photographer from one of the few press allowed in her office for the election, snapped a photo of them candidly.

"That was a joke, Jeff, don't even think of running that." Olivia snapped.

The photographer nodded, backing away. Olivia shot Marcus a scalding look.

"Sorry." Marcus quickly excused himself to seem busy elsewhere.

"Duvall County is in." Quinn turned up the television as everybody fell dead silent. Olivia wrung her hands and Fitz softly rubbed the small of her back to calm her down.

 _Duvall County goes Red for Congressman Neal._

"Fuck." Olivia muttered. She never hated that swampy mess of a state as much as she did at that moment. How was it that a state on the East coast was one of the last ones to report their results?

"Deep breaths." Fitz whispered.

Olivia stood up, beginning to pace. The numbers were not where they wanted them to be going into the final week of the campaign. Their lead quickly dissipated and they couldn't figure out why. Before they knew it, it was Election Day, and they were 6 points behind in the most recent poll. She never felt so helpless. There was nothing more she could do. Her team ran the best goddamn campaign the country had ever seen. She put everything into it. If it wasn't good enough, then she would have to deal with that.

OPA was bustling. They tried to keep the watching party down to a minimum amount of people, but it was hard. So many people were instrumental to the campaign, that it was a full on party. Fitz had to be there with her on that night. Olivia also wanted Alex to be there to witness history – even if she didn't fully understand what was going on.

"How could Duvall go blue? It's a freaking city."

"There is still hope for the high Black and Hispanic populations along the panhandle." Abbey reminded.

Olivia kept pacing, her mind going a thousand miles a minute. Two more counties came in – one blue and one red. Olivia felt weak all of the sudden. There were only so many counties left to save them. She felt faint, leaning against the wall.

"Fitz…" She looked over at him. She was telling him that something wasn't right.

"What?" he asked concerned, standing up to hold her by her arms.

"I don't know… I feel sick."

"Here." He guided her to her office away from the noise, setting her down on the couch. "Talk to me, what's going on."

"I feel lightheaded and warm."

"Lay down. Elevate your feet." He helped her position herself on the couch so that her feet were elevated on the arm rest. He took her pulse, but he didn't have a blood pressure kit in her office. "Keep taking deep breaths for me." Fitz locked eyes with Abbey through the glass and gave her a look letting her know that everything was fine.

"I feel better." Olivia said after a couple of moments, but she made no move to get up. "I think I just got a little overwhelmed in there."

"It happens." Fitz kissed her hand. "Do you want me to get a cool rag for your forehead? It will help cool you off."

"No, I can't let anything ruin my makeup." Olivia said with slight humor. "I'm fine just to take a moment to get myself together."

After a while, there was a great commotion in the conference room. Olivia sat up slowly to see what was going on. Abbey was telling Alex something, and pointing her to Olivia's office. Alex came in and Olivia and Fitz watched her intently.

"Daniel Salas is our new president." She said like she was reading off of a script.

Olivia was silent for a moment, her face split open in excitement and shock and a hundred other emotions. It felt like things were moving in slow motion. Fitz helped her stand – something that would have annoyed her before, but now she wasn't so sure if her legs would work. She hugged Alex, planting kisses all over her face.

They joined everybody else in their celebration. Daniel gave a speech that was streamed nation-wide. Daniel was still Fitz's least favorite person in the world, but he managed to tolerate his presence when Olivia was around. None of that mattered now. Now, they were all witnesses to history. This was something that their grandchildren would read in their history books and think, _my grandparents did this_.

Olivia naturally had to leave early. Alex was trying to stay awake, and she herself was about to pass out. The last year and a half seemed to just come crashing around her. Every late night, fight with Fitz, exhausted jet lag, anxiety about poll numbers and optics was now worth it. The hum of Fitz's car as he drove them home was enough to make her lean her head against the window and doze off.

When Fitz pulled into their car port, he took a moment to observe Olivia and Alex fast asleep. Alex, just a little too small for her age to graduate to a booster seat, had her head resting against the side of the car seat. Her tiny mouth hung open, and a small deposit of drool dripped down her chin. Olivia didn't have any drool, but she had the same expression of peace upon her face. Alex looked so much like Olivia. Fitz never knew Jake, but from the pictures he had seen, Alex definitely favored Olivia. She had her exact lips and eyes. Only her lighter skin and thinner nose could be credited to Jake.

Fitz took a moment to imagine how much their new child would resemble each of them. He would be a happy man if every child was a clone of Olivia. He was so fascinated by the possibility of seeing their genes mixed together to make a perfect baby. Realizing that he was spending too much time gawking at them, he gently woke each of them. All of them would sleep perfectly that night.

/

 **THANKSGIVINGS**

"Oh, no." Karen quickly took the spatula from Olivia, moving the onions around the skillet. "You can't let them burn."

"I can't believe my step daughter is teaching me how to cook." Olivia chuckled.

"Don't worry. I'll give you all the props when dad comes back from the store.

"He should be back by now." Olivia checked out of the window. "I hope the ice on the road isn't giving him too much trouble."

"With Jerry in the car, you know he isn't going over 15mph."

"Are you sure I can't help with anything?" Karen's friend Mia asked from the living room. After proving herself in her second semester at college, Karen convinced her parents that she should live off campus. Fitz was very much against the thought of Karen being more removed NYU's campus, but when she showed him a safe apartment she found in Williamsburg for a fraction of the cost it would be to stay in the dorms, Fitz finally gave in. Mia was a part of him agreeing too. She was Karen's roommate, 24, holding a steady job as an art teacher at a public school in Brooklyn, and working on her masters in social work at CUNY. She seemed to bring the balance and sturdiness to Karen's life. When Karen told them that she was estranged from her family in Miami, they offered for her to spend Thanksgivings with them. Karen was cryptic about why Mia was cut off from her parents. She hinted at their first generation catholic Puerto Rican values clashing with Mia's lifestyle.

"You are doing enough by keeping Alex occupied." Olivia said.

Mia was letting Alex draw up her arm a series of flowers and animals. "She is such a doll! And such an artista. She understands Spanish _muy bien_."

"Mia makes fun of my Spanish, because she says it is too _proper_." Karen rolled her eyes in good nature.

"Ay, ay, the public school system teaches only conjugations, but no history to the words." Mia winked her wide set almond eyes. She was incredibly beautiful, in a relaxed way. She wore her hair in a relaxed brain down her back and let Spanish words roll off of her tongue with ease. She seemed to have a light hearted and open outlook on everything. Olivia liked her from the start. She and Karen seemed to have a connection, which made her glad that Karen found someone so close in the city. She honestly wouldn't have been surprised if Karen told her that they were more than friends and apartment-mates, but it wasn't her place to speculate. They were letting Karen and Mia stay in the guest room as long as they helped transform it into the nursery.

"I think that might be Dad's car." Karen said, peeking out of the window. "I'll go help with groceries."

"Wait, what should I do so it looks like I know what I'm doing?" Olivia looked at the pots in front of her.

"Here, start chopping these peppers." Karen laughed, tossing her a bag of red and green peppers.

When Fitz came in with snow already gathered on the shoulders of his coat, he raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sight of Olivia in the kitchen, chopping peppers. "I leave for an hour, and you turn in to Guy Fieri."

"Careful, or I'll poison your food." Olivia kissed him and reached to take one of the grocery bags from his arm.

"Nope, I've got this." He set them on the counter, beginning to unload the last minute items he set out to get.

"Was the ice on the road bad?" Olivia asked, letting Karen take the peppers and put them in the skillet with the onions.

"Not too bad."

"I've seen paint dry faster than he was driving." Jerry piped in.

"Told you." Karen laughed.

"And I haven't seen you in a while, stranger." Olivia fully took Jerry's appearance in. Fitz picked him up from Mellie's on the way to the store. In all honesty, he looked completely different. After he graduated from Harvard last May, he enlisted in the Peace Corp. He wanted to travel before signing his life over to med school. In all honesty, he wanted more time to think about if med school was the right path for him. But he had spent the last six months in Thailand as a medical assistant to a hospital there. He seemed to gain a lot more muscle mass. He had a scruff on him that Olivia never would have imagined his former baby face would hold.

"Same to you." He hugged her briefly.

"How are you adjusting with your time back?"

"I forgot how cold it is here. I feel like I have yet to thaw."

"You will before you go back in January." Olivia said warmly. "Why don't you go start a fire in the living room? You guys let too much cold air in."

"Sure thing." Jerry nodded.

"Here." Olivia held out a spoon of cranberry dressing for Fitz to try. He let her feed him, taking in the taste.

"Wow. That is incredible. Did you make that?"

"No, Karen did." Olivia frowned. "But that was a funny face you just made when you thought I did." Olivia took a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth.

"You should sit down. You've been on your feet all day." Fitz said softly.

"I will actually take you up on that offer. Being Karen's sous chef is stressful." She went to the living room to play with Alex.

"Look, mommy. I'm giving Mia a… ah tatju—"

" _Tat-u-a-je_." Mia repeated.

"A tatuaje." Alex said triumphantly. "What is a tatuaje?"

"Something you won't be getting for at least twenty more years." Olivia said. "Mia, I can show you the bathroom, if you want to wash that off before dinner."

"Oh, I don't mind. I used to let my little brothers do this all the time when I was back in Miami."

"How old are they?"

"Rajon is starting at Florida State next year – he got his early admissions just the other day. Anthony is only in 9th grade."

"It must be hard never seeing them." Olivia said sympathetically.

"That's why skype and facetime exists." Mia shrugged, even though it did hurt to rarely see her brothers. "We love each other very much, we just know that it's not the right time for us to be together."

/

"We are going to go drop off Jerry at Mellie's and drive around the houses with all of their lights up. Do you want to join us?" Fitz asked, helping Alex to put on her coat.

"I'm really falling behind on this term paper. I should stay in." Karen said, glancing up briefly from her laptop.

"Me too, Mr. Grant." Mia said. They were under a pile of blankets in the living room with the fire blazing. Mia was halfway through a poetry book with an assortment of multicolored sticky notes jutting out of the pages.

"Suit yourself. Just make sure you put the fire out if you leave the room."

Olivia and Fitz dropped Jerry off with promises of seeing him around. He was going to soak up as much of the States as he could before heading back to Thailand after Christmas. Then, they drove around various wealthy neighborhoods with mansions draped in Christmas lights and whatever radio station was playing Christmas music. It wasn't long until Alex was gleefully asleep in the back seat with a full stomach and night of _ooh_ ing and _ahh_ ing at the fancy lights. They drove back home.

When Fitz walked back into their townhome, he still expected them to be up, since Karen was still waning off of her college schedule of staying up until late and sleeping past 10. He didn't however, expect to see them kissing, laid along the couch. The second Mia heard them come in, she sat up, her body language clearly embarrassed.

"Dad." Karen had a _deer in headlights_ look. "I thought you were going to be back much later."

"I'm going to go put Alex to bed." Olivia said, as if she didn't see anything.

"I should go." Mia said apologetically, getting up from the couch.

"No, no, no." Fitz said, not hiding his shock and bewilderment in his voice. "You should stay, sit."

"Dad… I can explain."

"You are gay." He said as if he was piecing it together in his mind.

"Well… no."

"Then… what was that?" Fitz awkwardly pointed his fingers to signify what he had just walked in on.

"We are dating." Karen said. She reached across the couch to take Karen's hand in hers. "I don't want to put any labels on my sexuality, but I guess you could say that I am bi."

"How long has this been going on?"

"A couple of weeks after we moved in together… So over a year."

"Were you going to tell me? Or…"

"Yes. I just couldn't bring myself to do it… I was waiting on the right time."

"Does your mother know?"

"Not yet… _Please_ don't say anything. I don't know how she will handle these kinds of things."

"Of course, of course." Fitz nodded. "I, uh, am going to go tuck Alex into bed."

Fitz caught Olivia and Alex in their nightly routine just in time to kiss Alex goodnight. He followed Olivia to their bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed in silence.

"Well?" Olivia asked, starting to remove the layers she was wearing.

"Karen is gay."

"Okay…" Olivia pulled one of Fitz' sweatshirts over her head, just large enough to swallow her and her baby bump. She sat down on the bed next to him.

"Well, not _gay_ , but attracted to both genders or whatever."

"Okay." Olivia repeated. "Mia is a nice girl. She makes her happy."

"Did you know about this?"

"No… I mean, she didn't tell me, but…" She laughed at the look of shock on Fitz's face. "Come on. It kind of makes sense."

"What do you mean?"

"They have chemistry together. And Mia being cut off from her parents for _religious_ reasons…"

"Shit… It does make sense." He realized.

"How did you handle it back there?" Olivia asked. If Karen hadn't told him about them, then she must have been worried about his reaction.

"I don't know… I was just shocked." Olivia shot him a questioning look. "Fuck, I should probably go back out there, I was so awkward."

Before Olivia could respond, he was standing up and leaving the bedroom. They weren't in the living room anymore, but he could hear them from the nursery. He could barely make out the words of Mia, but he could tell her voice was quiet and urgent. Karen's voice rang past the door making it hard not to eavesdrop.

"You can't go. He will come around, I swear. I know my dad."

He heard some hushed Spanish from Mia.

"He's not like your parents, Mia. I swear. Just don't leave. Stop packing."

"I don't want for what happened to me to happen to you."

"Quit being ridiculous. That is not going to happen."

Fitz knocked, making his presence known. Karen answered, and he could see Mia sitting on the bed with her suitcase out. "I may not have handled that the best back there."

Karen didn't say anything.

"But I want to let you know that if you are happy, then I am happy for you."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Mia breathed a visible sigh of relief.

"And Mia, you always welcome in our home."

"Thanks, Dad." Karen surprised him with a hug.

"I don't ever want you to feel like you have to keep something like this from me." He said as he hugged her tightly. "But take your time with your mother."

"I was planning to." Karen chuckled as she pulled back. "I can, uh, set up the couch, if you don't want us to sleep in the same bed."

"Would I ask you to do that with a guy?" Fitz asked. "Despite your financial dependency on me for the next year and a half, you are grown. I'm not going to tell your roommate to sleep in another room just because you are under my roof."

"Thanks, Dad." Karen hugged him again.

/

The next morning, Olivia woke up early due to the baby kicking. She went to start some coffee, realizing she wasn't going back to sleep. She was surprised to see Mia up, with the lights dim in the kitchen. She had a sketchbook out and seemed lost in her own world, as she drew in it.

"Good morning." Olivia said quietly. Mia almost jumped out of her seat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's okay." Mia smiled. "I often get lost in my own head when I draw."

"Would you like some coffee?" Olivia asked, pulling the coffee filters out of the cabinet.

"Thank you." Mia nodded. She set her pencil down, abandoning her art.

"You don't have to stop. I don't want to distract you from your work."

"I was nearly finished anyways."

For the first time, Olivia saw what she was drawing. It was a gorgeously accurate sketch of Alex. "That is beautiful. I didn't realize that you were so talented."

"It's more of an outlet to document things in my life… Happy moments."

"You could sell stuff of this quality."

"I wanted to at one point." Mia shrugged. "But I can always draw… I actually need a degree to help people."

Olivia went back to fixing their coffee.

"How do you do it?" Mia blurted.

"Do what?" Olivia asked.

"All of this…" She motioned to everything around them. "You have a perfect family. The perfect job. From what Karen has told me about you, you have worked hard and seen it pay off. I mean, just two weeks ago, you won a presidential election, and now you are barefoot, pregnant, _and I don't mean that in a derogatory way,_ making coffee an hour before you need to get your daughter up and dressed for her day. How do you balance it all? Was there ever a moment when you thought you would have to choose?"

"Every day." Olivia whispered.

"But what I can't wrap my mind round, is that you were an orphan." She quickly corrected herself. "I hope Karen was not told me too much, I don't mean to freak you out."

"No, it's fine." Olivia assured, nodding for her to continue.

"I never thought that my parents and I would get like this. I mean, growing up, I always looked up to their work ethic – they never complained about anything. But when I came out to them… It was like I was never their daughter. I was only 16. I had to go live with a friend in New York and figure it out on my own. I never thought that people like you existed… People who have it all, _despite_ not having it all placed out for them."

Olivia took a seat across from her at the kitchen island and slid a cup of coffee across to her. "I don't have to tell you that it isn't easy. Every day I feel like I am walking a thin line between being a bad wife and a good fixer, or a good wife and a bad fixer. And trauma always has a way of catching up to you, no matter how hard you try to keep it away. But trust the process. Never look at someone like me and think _she has it figured out, and I don't_ because trust me. I don't either."

"Thank you." Mia dabbed a tear away from her eye and laughed awkwardly. "I'm sorry, it is too damn early in the morning for all of this. I was just so scared last night that you and Mr. Grant wouldn't be open to our relationship. I guess it kind of brought up a lot of ugly thoughts about how overwhelmed I can feel at times."

"Fitz supports you two just as I do… Even if he had trouble expressing it last night."

"I know that now. I can't imagine being so blessed to have the parents Karen has."

"I'm glad that Karen has you." Olivia said honestly. "I know that I'm closer to your age than my own damn husband…" Olivia laughed softly to lighten the mood. "But I've seen a change in her ever since she moved in with you. She's grown up a lot, and I guess I didn't realize that you were the reason."

"We balance each other out." Mia took a sip.

"Well, since we are the only ones up, I would love to see more of your art."

Mia showed Olivia the few drawings she had in her sketchbook. Even though Olivia found Mia very guarded and careful in person, she saw a whole new side of her in her sketchbook. Many of the pieces were portraits, but a lot were conceptual and had abstract meanings. Karen was the subject of a lot of them, which gave Olivia new insight into how she viewed Karen. It wasn't long before the sun was rising and Fitz made his way to the kitchen.

"Good morning." He mumbled, kissing Olivia. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Ask your unborn son that." Olivia joked, pouring him a cup. "Alex is going to want to go ice skating the second she wakes up, but I'm going to have to sit this year out. I need to get her Christmas gifts ordered. Plus, I don't think the doctor would recommend me putting thin blades under my feet and sliding on a slick surface in my condition."

"Daddy-daughter date. I got it." He nodded.

"Do you ice skate in the winter in New York?" Olivia asked Mia.

"I've never tried it, but I can't imagine myself being coordinated enough." Mia laughed. "My Puerto Rican blood prefers sands and beaches over ice."

"Sounds like Karen is going to have to teach you." Fitz said, pulling out the carton of eggs from the fridge. "I'll handle breakfast. You two work on getting the others out of bed."

Olivia was glad that Fitz so openly invited Mia to come along. Ice skating on Black Friday was a tradition that Fitz used to do with Jerry and Karen. Now that Alex was getting old enough to participate, it was more exciting to her than Thanksgiving itself.

Yet, she was happy to sit this one out. She had a long list of candidates to present Daniel for different executive positions, and she needed to vet them. The closer his inauguration got, the more she was ready for this baby to come out of her and stop wreaking havoc on her body. Although, as much as she wanted to stop being pregnant, she hoped that he didn't come early. Her due date was close enough to the inauguration that Fitz was urging her to sit it out. There was no way she would miss watching someone take oath knowing that she put him there. She didn't care if she went into labor on the Capitol steps. She did pray, however, that the baby would not surprise her with an early arrival.

/

 **DECEMBER**

"Secretary of State?" Olivia asked.

"Ambassador Winston." Daniel said.

"Smart choice." Olivia threw the other candidate's photos into the reject pile. They were wrapping up the process of his appointments. After countless hours of vetting and shortlists, Daniel was finally sitting down to make the final appointments. "That rounds out the cabinet, moving on to positions within your office. Chief of Staff?"

"You."

"Daniel, I can't."

"Yes you can. I hope that my past mistakes don't keep you from seeing that we are great together – professionally, I mean." He quickly corrected himself.

"I can't and I won't." Olivia insisted. "And my decision has nothing to do with what happened."

Daniel sighed, leaning back in his chair and crossing his ankle over his knee. "You are the only person I trust."

"Then expand your circle." Olivia challenged, not meaning to sound as edgy as she did. In all honesty, she held no grudges against Daniel after what he did. As long as he didn't maintained everything professional with her – and he did – then she was fine with working around him. Everyone had moments of weakness, and she never held that against them. That didn't mean that she wanted to take a position in the executive branch, though.

"We'll come back to that one." He pivoted the conversation. "What is next?"

"Press Secretary." Olivia laid out the pictures for those candidates.

"I was thinking Abbey." He said cautiously. "I know she isn't among the people that we vetted, but I'm assuming that you know everything about her. I'm just not so sure that she would want to do it."

Olivia let a slow smile creep upon her face. Even though Abbey seemed ambivalent about wanting to follow Daniel to the White House, Olivia could tell that she wanted it more than anything. She was just too scared to imagine it. "I think she would love to hear an offer."

"Cool. I'll ask her once we finish here."

"What about Director of Communications?"

They finished appointing every position, and Daniel left Olivia to call and schedule meetings with Daniel's choices. Daniel was a pretty non-controversial candidate, so she suspected that most everybody would accept – unless there were personal reasons.

Halfway through a phone call with the secretary of the potential Secretary of Education, Olivia saw Abbey waiting by her door. She motioned for her to come in.

"President Elect Salas looks forward to meeting with her. I will follow up with you Wednesday to confirm the time. It was great talking with you. Good bye." Olivia hung up and turned to face Abbey. "What?"

"Did you do this?" She was having a hard time containing the excitement on her face.

"It was completely his idea."

"You had nothing to do with this?" Abbey said, still not believing her.

"I asked him who he wanted his Press Secretary to be. He said you. I told him that was a great idea."

"Is it, though? I mean, the Press Secretary goes in front of the press every day. Do you know how many times the current one is trending on Twitter for messing up? Like, at least 3 times a week."

"Then don't mess up." Olivia said with a little bit of humor. "Look, Daniel asked you, therefore you have a choice. If you want to say no, then say no. But don't say no because you don't think that you are good enough. Because that is a lie, and you know it."

"What if I don't want to leave OPA?"

"Then say no. But this is a very important position, and you can always come back."

Abbey nodded, her mind swirling with all of the pros, cons, insecurities. "I'm going to take it."

"I'm proud of you, Abbey." Olivia extended her arms for an awkward hug.

"But what is everybody going to do without me? It won't be long until the baby comes. You will have to take time off. That leaves just Huck, Quinn, and Marcus."

"I think we will survive."

/

"Woah." Olivia paused, in the middle of putting up dishes into the cabinet. Her hand went to her belly, holding it carefully. She inhaled deeply.

"Is everything okay?" Fitz asked, quickly at her side.

"Yeah." Olivia nodded. "I think that was just a foot to my rib cage."

Fitz took her wrist between his thumb and index finger, taking her pulse.

"Fitz, I'm fine."

"I want to take your blood pressure." He said. "Your pulse is fast."

"My pulse is fast, because I just lost my breath. That's it." She ran her hand along his cheek. "You can't take my blood pressure every time he kicks."

Fitz sighed, like he was going to protest, but he knew better. "Go rest. I can finish these." He picked up a dish and put it in the cabinet.

"I'm fine." Olivia said, grabbing the silverware holder and going over to their silverware drawer.

"You've been in heels all day, your feet should rest." Olivia ignored him as she finished sorting the knives, spoons, and forks. She moved on to some of the pots. Fitz sighed heavily. "Okay, now what is wrong?"

"Why are you always assuming something is wrong with me?"

"I didn't mean it like that."

"When I say that I am fine, I'm fine."

"I'm just trying to make your life easier."

"I know that, Fitz. I'm pregnant, not dying. Yes, I am a month away from my due date. Yes, my feet are killing me and I can't remember the last time my back felt normal, but I can put some damn dishes away. You should get back to your work. You have a deadline this week."

Fitz sighed, walking away. Pregnancy only made her temper worse. He knew that nothing drove Olivia crazier than him being overprotective of her, but he couldn't help it. He was trying not to smother her, but she _was_ eight months pregnant. She _was_ working full time in a demanding time crunch to get everything ready for Daniel at the White House. She _was_ the type of person to take on too much and not admit it when she was overwhelmed.

"I love you." Olivia called out after he had disappeared from her view. She had to remind him through small ways like that, that even though he irritated the shit out of her at times through this pregnancy, there was nobody she would rather knock her up.

He responded with a muffled _I love you_ , making her smirk.

/

 **INAUGURATION DAY, JANUARY**

"You look beautiful." Fitz grinned. He was saying it honestly, but Olivia couldn't help but take it the wrong way.

"I look like a cow."

"A beautiful cow." Fitz wrapped his arms around her belly from behind, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"You disgust me." Olivia maneuvered out of his arms. "Put you goddamn shirt on. You are making it worse."

"How?" Fitz chuckled, reaching for his tuxedo shirt.

"Because all of your muscles are just out there. Rippling with no decency. How much weight have you gained in the last nine months? Negative four?" Olivia rolled her eyes. "Meanwhile, I had to go to _eight_ designers before I could find one that would even design a dress for my pregnant ass."

"But think about how cool our son is going to feel knowing that he attended an inaugural ball where no other kids were allowed."

"It's not like you will be able to miss him in any photos… Whether he remembers it or not." Olivia rotated back and forth in front of the mirror, trying to see which angle looked best. She was damn near 9 months. Yet, she would not miss out on tonight. Two hours ago, Daniel Salas was sworn in to be the next President of the United States. Abbey officially turned in her resignation to become his Press Secretary that morning. Now, the motorcade was probably finishing up the parade and headed to the White House. They still had some time before they needed to leave, but Olivia got her rest in after the swearing in ceremony. Now she was wired and ready to go.

It wasn't every day you got to not only witness history, but know that you made it happen.

"Are you sure that you will be able to go out tonight?" Fitz asked one last time. He was honestly grateful that the day had arrived. He thought – mistakenly – that after the election, Olivia would be free. He didn't realize that she also had to help Daniel set up his administration. But now that the hand was placed upon the bible, she was actually through. Free to return to her mildly frantic life before the heavily frantic election occurred.

"I will let you know when I'm ready to go home." Olivia reminded. "I'm actually glad I have this stinker to use as an excuse to dip out early. They really know how to party. Last time around, we stayed up until 4am."

"You set the pace tonight. I am just honored to be at your side." Fitz responded. He was rarely star struck by Olivia and her job anymore, but he had to admit: going to an inaugural ball ( _and_ being in the bleachers behind the swearing in ceremony) was pretty cool. Even if he still couldn't stand Daniel.

Olivia rested again, after getting ready. Her feet were her main concern for the night. She wanted to spend the night around, and not sitting in a corner somewhere. She had to get her dress hemmed because she was wearing flats and didn't want it to drag. When their car pulled around, they kissed Alex goodnight one last time – leaving her with a babysitter – and made their way to the first ball.

Once inside the swanky ballroom of the Washington Convention Center, Olivia couldn't keep the cameras off of her. Fitz thought that her status couldn't have elevated any more after the French President's scandal, but he was wrong. Everybody was interested in the petite – and now very pregnant – woman who had secured two elections while remaining humble and low profile the whole time.

Since Daniel was the first bachelor president since James Buchanan, he had his first dance with his aunt. Olivia felt awkward, dancing with Fitz. Usually, she loved dancing with him. They were always in sync and he was an incredible dancer. But tonight it was hard to get comfortable with her bump rubbing up against his stomach. Finally, they agreed they should save the dancing for another night.

Fitz limited himself to one conversational glass of wine. He knew that Olivia's biggest pet peeve was him freely drinking around her while she was pregnant. He could tell by the way that her eyes followed his glass to his lips, so he mainly held onto it and didn't drink much.

"I'm going to go to the ladies room." Olivia whispered to him. He nodded, but was surprised when she took his hand, dragging him with her.

"What's wrong?" He asked, wondering if the _ladies room_ was just a code word for something else. It was, but not in the way he expected. She led him past the bathrooms to a vacant room at the end of the hallway. After making sure that nobody was in there, she shut the door behind them. "Seriously, what is wrong?" Fitz asked again.

Olivia pulled up onto her tip toes, and snaked her hand around his neck to pull his mouth to hers. He moaned, at the way her tongue slid against his. When they finally pulled back, Olivia was panting, her eyes wild with desire.

"Take another sip of your wine." She whispered.

He obliged, pulling the dark red liquid onto his palate. Before he could fully swallow it, she was leaning up again, sucking his lips with just as much vigor. They were interrupted, this time, by someone jiggling the doorknob.

"Shit." Olivia mumbled, pulling back. She wiped her mouth, pulling herself together. She reached into Fitz's tuxedo to pull his handkerchief out and wipe her lipstick off of his face. Fitz reached for the doorknob, but she stopped him with her hand on his chest. "I'm going to go to the bathroom and say goodbye to some people. Wait a minute or two, then meet me by the stage."

/

"Thank you for tonight." Fitz said as he sat on the edge of the bed. Olivia was lying on the bed, rubbing cocoa butter into her skin. He watched her fingers rub along her stretched skin, and considered helping her out. But she finished, pulling on of his t shirts over her head and pulled the covers over her. She looked at him through the dim light of the one night lamp still on.

"Thank you for the last two years." She said softly. She hoped that he knew what she meant by that. Even though he was very against the entire campaign, he still trusted her… eventually. But the important thing was that overall, he put his pride aside on multiple different issues and let her follow this dream for her firm.

He joined her under the covers, pulling the comforter around them. He settled into the big spoon, resting his hand carefully on the side of her belly.

"Fitz?" Olivia said softly, after a few moments of silence. There was all of the cautiousness in her voice. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." He mumbled. Olivia shifted out of their spooning position, her belly rising like a mountain in the dark bedroom.

"I want you to know that it is okay to say no. It won't hurt my feelings. And, it feels ridiculous, even to ask, but—"

"Geez, just ask me." He said with a chuckle.

"I need to have sex." Olivia said, staring at the ceiling.

"What?" He chuckled. He was expecting some type of bombshell.

"It's been over a month. And, I mean, I understand why. I'm a fucking whale. But I _really_ need to get off."

"Well, I hope that you want me to fulfill that need, because that would be awkward if you weren't." Fitz said with the greatest amusement. "You shouldn't even have to ask that."

"Well, I know that these ugly ass maternity bras and stretchmarks aren't exactly _turn-ons_."

"I am turned on by you in any state." Fitz murmured, kissing deeply into her neck. It was like she flipped a switch in him – like he had been waiting for her permission for weeks. She moaned, her back arching the slightest bit. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt, shifting to face him. Her belly would cause too much space between them, so they had to settle with laying on her back.

She was so reactive, Fitz could tell how much she needed this. He lifted her t shirt to gently cup her breast. Her lips parted in a small gasp. She arched her back so that he could reach around to undo the clasp. Freeing her aching breasts. Fitz pulled her shirt over her head, throwing it to the floor. She looked so beautiful, breathing heavily, and watching him intently.

"Are you comfortable?" Fitz checked. Olivia nodded, giving him the greenlight to take his dick out of his pajama pants. He bent one of her legs over to the side to make passageway for himself into her.

"Oh my god." Olivia let out, arching her back even more. Their positioning was awkward to say the least, but it was doing more than enough. Fitz was determined to hold out – to make sure that if she needed sex bad enough to ask for it, then she was going to get it. Over and over. He reached around her to put pressure on her clit.

"Baby, let go." He purred in her ear. She moaned a guttural sound, releasing herself to the inevitable waves of pleasure. That was probably the quickest he'd ever been able to make her come. He watched her beautiful body orgasm. She let out a soft shudder, her muscles relaxing to a state they hadn't been in for a while. Fitz waited for her to come down, to make sure she felt okay. She gave him an affirming nod with tears wetting her cheeks, before he continued.

They exhausted themselves, switching around the few positions that accommodated her 9 month pregnant self. Finally, they collapsed on the bed. Fitz set his hand on her belly, laughing to himself.

"What?"

"Did that work?" He asked. "Did that meet your need?"

"Yes." Olivia said. That was all she could say, in the moment. She never felt so exhausted, but the right kind of exhaustion. The kind that made every fiber of her being content. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, just taking a moment to take stock of everything she was feeling. Then it hit her. There was wetness in between her legs. Not the wetness that Fitz usually made her feel, but different. She cautiously felt her hand down there – yep, it was wet. Very wet.

"Fitz?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm wet."

"I know." He smirked cockily.

"No, I mean, I think my water broke."

"Funny."

"I'm not kidding."

Fitz sat up, looking at her. Her face made it clear that she wasn't kidding. "Are you sure it's not pee?"

"I think I would know if I peed myself, but you are welcome to stick your nose down there to smell it." She said sarcastically.

"This is really it, isn't it?"

"I think so."


	24. Chapter 24

**Okay, so this picks up literally the second where the last one left off. I didn't expect to have this one published before the New Year, but I also didn't expect to spend the night in ATL's airport haha. One man's overnight delay, is another man's fanfiction chapter.**

 **Enjoy and have a Happy New Year :)**

* * *

"What should we do now?" Olivia laughed nervously, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that it was happening so soon. Fitz began to explain the protocol and timeline of what was about to happen, but barely any of it was registering with her. She couldn't focus on the fast words coming out of his mouth, when the reality of her going into labor was hitting her like a truck.

"Livvie?" He noticed her dazed expression and took her face between his hands.

"Yes." She said, snapping out of her trance.

"There is no need to get overwhelmed."

"I know." Olivia moved her face to kiss one of his palms. "I'm sorry. I trust you."

"We need to get to the hospital, but there is no rush. Is there anything you want to do before we go?"

"Do I have time to take a shower? I don't want to explain to the doctor why your semen is inside of me."

"That would probably save me from a lot of awkward work stares." Fitz agreed, helping her shower. Olivia washed her hair, too. The scent of her shampoo was always therapeutic to her, and she knew that she would need all the calm she could get. Her contractions started in the shower, but were still far apart. Fitz woke up Alex, and explained what was happening. It all seemed to be too calm and measured. Olivia imagined that once she went into labor, everything would be a rush, but Fitz was calm. He checked everything off of the list. In the car, Olivia wanted to slap him for driving carefully.

"This isn't your 16 year old driving test, Fitz. You are going 4 under the speed limit." Olivia groaned, squeezing his hand as a contraction hit her.

"It's not like a head is about to pop out of you at any second." Fitz argued, carefully signaling to change lanes. "Your contractions are still 7 minutes apart."

"I'm not saying to remake _Fast & Furious_, but a little less _Driving Miss Daisy_." Olivia quipped, as he did increase his speed limit. Once to the hospital, Olivia was immediately put into a wheel chair and wheeled to her birthing suite.

"Fitz…" Olivia grabbed his hand as a nurse wheeled her down the hallway.

"Is there another contraction already?"

"No, I was just thinking about how this is the same spot, kind of the same condition, we first met."

Fitz grinned. "I think you were squeezing my hand just as hard."

"Sorry." She immediately loosened it. To be honest, she didn't really remember the first time they met. She was in so much pain and shock, the only thing she remembered was a hand holding hers that wasn't like the rest. It wasn't cold and medical, prodding her to see where she was hurt. It was soft and comforting. She remembered his voice being calm, reassuring, and resolute – unlike the other voices rapidly firing out medical jargon and repetitively asking her to calm down. But Fitz told her time and time again about how he was pulled to her that night. How he couldn't leave her side and it took Cyrus barking at him to get out of the doctors' way.

A surprising calm came over her. This was 5 years later. 5 years ago, she was alone – a victim of some fucked up revenge her father enacted on a man she thought she loved, but was nothing but a lie. Now, she had a beautiful daughter that she managed not to fuck up, an incredible husband that she knew through and through, and everything seemed to be in place. She felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

"Fitz?" She looked back to him.

"What is it?"

"I want you to deliver the baby."

The purest joy fell across his face. "Really?" He wanted to deliver the baby from the start. But Olivia insisted that he be her husband, not her doctor. She wanted him at her side, not in between her legs. She had immense anxiety about going through labor – something she never did with Alex because of her sedated c-section – and wanted him to be there for her if she needed anything.

"Really." She brought the back of his hand to her lips to kiss, but then was hit by another contraction. "Umph. That was another one."

"They are getting close." Fitz checked his watch. "Almost to your room."

Once Olivia was settled in her bed, Fitz was gaining her medical charts from a doctor. Alex, mainly lost in all of the commotion went to Olivia's bedside, taking her hand.

"Mommy, are you in pain?" She asked softly.

"A little." She admitted with a wink. "But I'm tough. I can take it."

"I don't want you to be in pain." Alex whimpered. No doubt that the IV in Olivia's arm and the buzzing and whirling of machines was scaring her.

"I'll be okay. It is worth it to meet your little brother."

"Did I hurt when you met me?"

"Yes." Olivia ran a hand along Alex's hair. "And look at how beautiful you are."

Fitz was at her side, helping her stand up. "You need to walk around for a bit. It will help with the labor."

He helped support Olivia as she walked around the room, her bare feet cold against the tile floor. "How is this going to work, with you being my doctor? We didn't plan for this."

"It isn't going to be that different. I will have an assistant, and we will carry out the delivery. If you need anything, I will be right here, okay? There is no need to worry." His voice was calm and comforting. She knew that she never trusted anybody like she did him.

Olivia nodded, focusing on relieving the weird things her body was feeling. "I need to pee."

Abbey arrived shortly for support. Olivia was grateful that she was there, even though she knew that she probably should be pulling an all-nighter in the White House on the first night of Daniel's presidency. Abbey was still in her inaugural gown. She no doubt attracted stares from people in the waiting room as she powerwalked past in her heels.

"This is so exciting!" She squealed, hugging Olivia gently.

"There is no thrill like stretching your cervix wide enough to pass a human through." Olivia joked bitterly. "Shouldn't you be working? Your first briefing is in six hours."

"I'm already prepared. Daniel can't do too much to fuck up the first 21 hours, so I think it will be easy." Abbey joked. "I need to run home and change, though."

"That dress doesn't exactly blend with the scrubs and lab coats around here." Olivia chuckled.

The rest was a waiting game. Olivia rested, walked, stretched, napped, waited. It was so late, that she was wondering if she would even be able to keep her eyes open during the delivery. Finally, around 4am, her contractions sped up to under 5 minutes. Abbey was asleep, with Alex, in the waiting room. Olivia woke up Fitz to start preparing.

She almost wished that she was coming out of a car crash with a broken foot and severe gashes instead of this pain.

"You are doing great, Livvie." Fitz pressed his lips to her temple. She was sweating profusely, gritting her teeth with every contraction. "Almost there."

"How much longer?" Olivia groaned as another contraction hit.

"A couple of minutes."

"Minutes?" Olivia gasped. She didn't know if she could last for thirty more seconds.

"You can do it. Just think about your breathing. In… Out… In-"

"I'm thinking about how I'm going to snip your balls off after this so you never impregnate me again."

Fitz wanted to laugh, but he knew that would only make her angrier. He was sure that she had many more one-liners saved up that she would use when the pain got worse.

"She's at 9cm." Fitz's assistant said.

"Is it too late to get that Epidural?" Olivia joked, trying to make herself feel better.

"You are going to do great. I believe in you." Fitz kissed her hair and circled around to get in position in between her legs. He softly massaged her thighs, trying to give her the most comfort and support that he could. His eyes were locked with hers, taking breaths to match hers. It was the most infinite moment they had ever shared. "Are you ready?" He asked.

She nodded. In her eyes she held a world of fear, determination, love, and every other emotion she had ever felt.

"Okay, push when I tell you to." He kissed her thigh. "You got this."

 _PUSH_

Olivia gritted her teeth and held the bed rail with an iron fist.

"Livvie, that was great. He's crowning." He said encouragingly.

"I fucking hate you." Olivia spat, gritting her teeth and gripping the bed side.

"That's okay, you can yell at me as much as you like." He reminded. "I'm going to count down from 5 and then I need you to push again. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"

 _PUSH_

"We are never having sex again."

"Woah, woah." Fitz laughed, keeping his tone light hearted. "You don't have to take it that far."

 _PUSH_

Olivia couldn't even speak anymore. She wanted nothing but to end the pain.

"He's got a big head." Fitz joked. "Must be my son."

Olivia hated that he was being so upbeat and humorous. She wanted him to be in just as much discomfort as she was. But deep down, his tone was the confidence that she needed. As long as he wasn't worried, there was no reason for her to be.

 _PUSH_

"You are doing great. I'm so proud of you." Fitz locked eyes with her. She was shaking her head. She felt like she was going to pass out at any second. The distress was clear. "I need one more push, Livvie. One more push and you are done."

Olivia nodded, using every last ounce of strength to push.

 _PUSH_

Pressure released. Blackness clouded her vision. Fitz realized he was holding his son in his hands. All slimy, pink, wailing. Covered in afterbirth, but beautiful to him. "You did it!" He yelled, planting a kiss to her knee. The assistant quickly took the baby from him as Fitz cut the cord. He walked around to Olivia's side with their son in his careful hands.

"Olivia, here is your son."

Olivia was exhausted, she could barely open her eyes. But the second she saw her son there, crying in piercing screams and covered in afterbirth, it was like a new beginning. She took the baby from his arms, carefully holding him to her chest. She tried to speak, but no words came out.

"You were incredible." Fitz kissed her forehead and hair repeatedly. He wiped the sweat off of her face with a cool rag. "I love you so much."

After a moment of holding their child, Fitz handed him over to a nurse to clean up. The nurse would bring him back in a few minutes for his first breast feeding. Fitz helped clean Olivia up, getting her into a new hospital gown. Once they brought back a clean baby, swaddled up, Olivia fed him for the first time. Then, Fitz fetched Alex and Abbey from the waiting room.

"He is so perfect." Abbey gawked, as Olivia held him close to her chest. "What is his name?"

Fitz looked to Olivia. She didn't want to name him until he was born. Part of that was because she was worried – in the back of her mind – that if they gave him a name and something went wrong, she would never be able to live with that name again. They had threw some names out there between each other, but decided to wait until the baby was delivered.

"Thomas Harrison Grant." She said with finality. Fitz's heart soared. Olivia had teased him about his want to pass his name down. She never understood the need to have a lineage of men with the same name. But the fact that she included his middle name meant the world to him. The fact that she named him Harrison, he knew, meant a world to her.

Olivia thought back to when Alex was a baby. Those days were such a cloud of confusion and trauma, but one thing she remembered was Harrison rocking Alex, while she pretended to be asleep, too distant to accept that she was alone with a baby girl just yet.

 _Hey, you. Your mommy hasn't given you a name yet, so I'm going to call you little gladiator. Because that is what you are. A gladiator. Except they don't make suits in your size, so I guess that you are a gladiator in a diaper. Don't worry. You'll grow out of it._

 _My name is Harrison. That is a lot of syllables, but you are smart like your momma, so you'll get it. I don't know how to gladiate a diaper change, but I'll get it eventually too. I'm actually glad that you are here. Everyone in this town is a bloody Redskins fan. I know, it is tragic. But don't worry. Uncle Harrison is going to raise you right. There is nothing more American than the red white and blue New York Giants…_

Olivia declared that she was tired. Too tired to stay awake any longer. The adrenaline from childbirth wore off, and she was crashing. Fitz was too. He had a nurse bring in a cot for him and Alex, handing over Harrison to the nurse to put in the nursery with all of the other newborns. Alex insisted on crawling into the bed with Olivia. She was worried, after seeing her mother in so much pain. Fitz was ready to object, but Olivia obliged, drawing Alex into her side.

"I love you." He mouthed over to her once they were all settled.

"Ditto." She mouthed back, settling into the best sleep of her life.

/

The next morning, Fitz woke up well before Olivia. No doubt, she would sleep more than 8 hours after the night/early morning she had. He went out to the nursery to watch his new son, and found her entire team in the waiting room.

"Is she awake yet?" Quinn asked, quickly rising from her chair.

"No. And she probably won't be for a couple of hours." Fitz said. "How long have you guys been here?"

"Three hours." Marcus said. Huck remained in his seat, seeming uncomfortable. From what Fitz knew of Huck, he was always out of his place whenever he was away from his computer. That didn't mean that he didn't love Olivia just as much as the others.

"Have you seen him yet?" Fitz beamed.

"No, we didn't know which one was him in the nursery." Quinn said.

"I'll show you." Fitz proudly led them to the glass-enclosed room with a dozen babies in it. Some were crying. Some were fast asleep. But his son was wide awake, staring curiously at the ceiling. "He's right there. Three from the right." Fitz pointed to the newborn in the blue blanket. The baby boy was lighter skinned than the black babies around him, but dark enough to distinguish himself from the lighter babies also around him. Fitz couldn't tell whether he resembled Olivia or himself more, but he was sure that people would tell him soon enough. _Oh, he's got your jaw, Olivia's brow, her eyelashes, your eyes_. None of that mattered. All that mattered was that he was healthy and perfect.

After a couple of hours, Olivia woke up. Fitz offered to go find her some food. She rocked Thomas back and forth in her arms, familiarizing him with her voice and touch. Alex was still snuggled at her side.

"Alex, do you want to hold him?" Olivia asked.

Alex's eyes got wide. She slowly shook her head.

"It's okay. I can help you."

"What if I hurt him?"

"You just have to be careful. Here, come sit next." Olivia awkwardly made room for Alex to join her on the bed. "You are going to hold your hands out like this. I'm going to put his head in one of your hands, and his body in the other. That is the most important part – be gentle with his head."

Alex nodded, seriously, as Olivia lowered Thomas into her hands. Her tiny hands trembled as she held her little brother. Olivia supported Alex under her hands.

"You can talk to him." Olivia encouraged. "He's your baby brother."

"Hi, Thomas." Alex whispered. "My name is Alexandria, but everybody calls me Alex. I think I'm going to call you Harry because Harrison is your middle name, but it might not work, because you don't have a lot of hair. Nobody calls me Maya, but that is my middle name. You are so small and pink. You cry too much, and caused Mommy a lot of pain. But I love you. I'm going to teach you all of the words to Moana, and I'm going to teach you how to draw and color."

Olivia pulled her hand back momentarily to dab a tear from her eye.

"I am going to protect you from anybody who is mean to you, until you can protect yourself. One day, you will be bigger than me, because Mommy says I'm really small. When you are big, you can protect me."

Olivia didn't even notice Fitz standing there, watching his family interact. He was filled with such pride and joy, his heart could burst. He finally decided to make his presence known, walking forward to plant a kiss on each of their heads.

"Daddy, look! I'm holding him."

"I see. You are doing a great job."

"When can I be released?"

"Tomorrow."

"Can't you abuse your doctor's privilege and get me out tonight?" Olivia asked. "I want to go home."

"I know, I know." Fitz glanced at the table full of cards from the hospital staff. The entire hospital was abuzz with the news. "I want to get out of here as fast as possible too. I feel like a distraction. But we still have to make sure that you aren't at risk of any infection, and everything is sealed up down there."

Thomas began to cry in Alex's arms. Alex froze, frightened by the baby's sudden outburst. Alex didn't understand why he was so calm one second then in distress the next.

"It is okay, Alex, I think he might be hungry."

"Can I feed him?" Alex asked, once she had safely passed the wailing human over to Olivia. Alex slid off of the bed and stood next to the bedside.

"He's too young for a bottle." Olivia said. "I feed him like this." She pulled her breast out of her hospital gown, guiding Thomas's mouth to latch. Fitz thought about the first time he taught Olivia how to breastfeed. She was so worried and stressed. Now, it was as easy to her as burping him afterwards.

"Did you do that for me?" Alex asked in awe. Breastfeeding had never occurred to her before.

"Yes, when you were this small." Olivia tried to hide the discomfort upon her face. It hurt, just like it did the first time.

"We all need to eat, too." Fitz reminded, setting the food he bought from a restaurant across the street down and preparing everybody's plate.

/

"How are you feeling?" Fitz asked, helping her gently get settled in the bed.

"Exhausted." Olivia smiled. "My nipples hurt and my hips ache, but nothing that I didn't experience with Alex."

Fitz set up Thomas's crib right next to their bed. "Let's see if he can get this sleeping thing down."

"He's really beautiful." Olivia whispered.

"We did that." Fitz nodded.

Olivia let out a long yawn, stretching out to lay on her stomach. "Well, this bed is way more comfortable than the hospital one, and I haven't slept in this position in seven months. I'm about to pass out."

Fitz kissed her forehead tenderly. "I'll put Alex to bed."

"Thank you." Olivia pulled the covers over her head, and slowly drifted into a much needed slumber. Right when she was on the verge of a deep and dreamless state, Thomas began to cry.

 _And so it begins._ Olivia thought as she reluctantly turned on the bedside light picked him up. "What do you need?" Olivia cooed in her baby voice. She fed him and burped him before Fitz came back from putting Alex down. "He needs a diaper change."

"On it." Fitz took him off of Olivia's hands and went to change the diaper. Olivia realized that this was how it was going to be from here on out. Passing children off to one another and consistently working around the clock.

/

 **FIVE YEARS AGO**

"If you need anything, just call." Abbey said, hesitant to leave. Olivia nodded weakly. Abbey left her apartment, leaving Olivia alone with this stranger. This baby girl that was about as familiar as an extraterrestrial being. But she couldn't ask Abbey to stay any longer. She had been by her side consistently in the hospital. Olivia had to let her get back to her life.

She watched her carefully from her bed. Everything she needed was within her grasp, because her foot was still freshly broken. Alex moved around in her swaddling, threatening to cry. Olivia stilled, careful to move. _Please don't cry. Please don't cry._ Then Alex cried. A soft whimper at first, but once Olivia picked her up, she blew into a full on wail. Face scrunched, fighting her tight blanket.

"No no no." Olivia cooed, rocking her back and forth. It didn't help. "Are you hungry? Too warm? Is your diaper dirty?" Olivia begged, but Alex just cried. She cried until Olivia was crying with her. Olivia set her baby down on her bed and just stared at her. She felt so helpless. It wasn't like she could call Abbey to come back. What would she say? _Hey, I don't know what to do, how do you make a baby stop crying?_ Not to mention that Abbey had pretty much spent the last week doing everything for her. This was her daughter, after all. She had to figure it out. She expected Alex to eventually stop crying, but she didn't. She had more energy - it seemed - than Olivia did.

Desperate, Olivia picked up Alex again, and led her to her breast. She wasn't hopeful. Alex still hadn't fully taken to breastfeeding. But it was the only thing she knew to do. To her shock, Alex latched on. Olivia gasped as her cries immediately stopped. She wanted to laugh, she wanted to cry, but she had no energy. Instead, she just sat there in silent exhaustion.

She was alone.

There was nobody there to help her.

She had to figure this out.

On her own.

/

"You know," Abbey began. "Therapy is still an option."

Olivia was silent, motioning for her to throw away the shirt she had in her hand. Since she couldn't walk, Abbey was helping her clean out Jake's things. Some of his items were too painful to even look at.

"I took some pamphlets from your doctor."

"Just throw it all out." Olivia sighed, falling back on the bed. "I don't want to look at it."

"Liv-"

"Do it."

Abbey didn't object to her tone, throwing all of his clothes into the bin that would then be donated. "His toiletries?"

"Out." Olivia said flatly.

Abbey grabbed all of Jake's deodorant, shampoo, cologne and everything, dumping it into a trash bag. "Did he have a safe? Any documents?"

"He did, but a few military men came by this morning to pick it up. I assume that it was confidential Pentagon documents." In fact, the military handled everything concerning his death. Men in dark uniforms appeared out of nowhere and that was that. They presented a tablet that took her fingerprint as verification that she was signing over his confidential documents. She was so sleep deprived that she agreed with no questions asked. Maybe she should have taken their names down, or read what she was signing, but she was so exhausted that she was just grateful that it was one less thing to worry about.

"Okay... Then what else?"

"I don't know." Olivia's eyes fell to her lap. She reached forward to pull one of his old t shirts out of the bin. She ran her fingers along the worn fabric, before tossing it back. "I miss him so much."

Abbey went to sit next to her, careful of her cast. She wrapped her arms around her as gently as she could. "Throwing everything out won't change that."

"I know." She wiped her eyes. "But what do I keep? What stupid memento of him do I need to hold on to? He's dead. He's not coming back. It just seems silly."

Abbey rested her chin on Olivia's shoulder. "I don't have any words to say, so I'm just going to hold you."

Olivia allowed herself to be held for a minute. Then she moved away from Abbey, reaching for her crutches. "All of his books are in the living room. On the shelf. There are some first editions that I might want to save for Alexandria." She sighed. "Can you grab her for me? I can't even carry my damn daughter and walk at the same time."

"I've got her." She nodded, picking up Alex from her crib. "I think she needs a diaper change."

"I can do it." Olivia hobbled over to the changing station.

"No, you should rest."

"I need to get used to all of this. I can't have you be a stand in nanny for all of Alex's life."

"I was thinking more about your foot." Abbey said, but she set Alex down on the changing table for Olivia. "I'll go get those books."

/

 **PRESENT DAY - ONE MONTH LATER**

"Mommy won't let me play, because she says that it will wake up Thomas." Alex pouted.

Fitz looked to Olivia who was clearly frustrated. "This is the first time he's gone to sleep for more than 2 hours." She whispered.

"Well then, it's a good thing I am here to rescue you from your evil mother." Fitz winked, making Olivia roll her eyes. "Grab your coat, let's go play in the snow."

"Can I ride my scooter?"

"If it isn't too icy." Fitz watched Alex race off to her room to fetch her coat. "Don't forget your gloves." He called after her.

"You love playing the fun parent." Olivia said, welcoming his kiss. "I didn't tell her she couldn't play. I told her she couldn't watch TV, because the noise was too loud."

"I know, I know." Fitz rubbed her shoulder. "How was your day?"

"Exhausting. I tried to get some work done, but he would not stop crying long enough for me to have a damn phone call."

"You should try to take a nap while he's asleep." Fitz kissed her temple. "I'll be on dinner duty."

"Thank you." Olivia softly set Thomas his crib and laid down on the bed. Even though she had Fitz, who was an immense help with the baby, she was still consumed by him. Every decision she made had to put him first. She went through these feelings of helplessness with Alex, but she didn't expect them to return so strong the second time around. She couldn't go anywhere outside with him, because the D.C. winters were too harsh for his infant immune system. Fitz was able to take three weeks off from work to help Olivia, but now, she was in the house alone all day. By the time he got home every night, she just cherished his presence and help with the baby.

She welcomed the chance to sleep. At one point, she heard Thomas begin to cry, but before she could force herself to wake up she heard Fitz pick him up, softly cooing. They must have been back from playing outside. Olivia opened one eye to look around. It was dark. There was no light coming from the window, meaning that it was already nighttime. She groaned, forcing herself to get up.

She found Fitz in the kitchen, rocking Thomas, and feeding him some of her refrigerated breast milk. He was shirtless, wearing pajama pants.

"What time is it?" She whispered.

"A little after midnight."

"Shit." She mumbled.

"You were really tired, so I didn't want to wake you for dinner. I fixed a plate for you in the fridge."

"Thanks." Olivia went to go heat it up. "How was Alex and the snow?"

"Moody. I think she is having trouble adjusting to her little brother."

"Aren't we all." Olivia mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Ignore me, I'm just tired." Olivia sighed.

"Talk to me." Fitz said, not buying it. Olivia was silent, using the excuse of food to not respond. "Liv…"

"I'm just tired. I will feel better in the morning."

"Are you feeling depressed?" He asked, honestly.

"No, I'm not depressed." Olivia said defensively.

Fitz looked at her with a slight worry in his eyes. Her shortness and frustration was to be expected from a mother with a newborn, but he had seen these sentiments be a red flag for something more. "I am going to ask you some things, and I want you to tell me if any of them apply. Please be honest with me."

"Fine."

"Have you had trouble sleeping when the baby sleeps?"

"Yes."

"Do you feel like you aren't bonding with Thomas?"

"I don't know." Olivia said honestly. Fitz raised his eyebrows, so she elaborated. "It was harder with Alex. I was really overwhelmed the first year. So in comparison, Thomas is better."

"Do you feel disconnected from the outside world?"

"I have barely left the house, so obviously."

"Do you feel like these past couple of weeks have been in a fog?"

"I prefer to think of it as exhaustion."

"Do you feel different from the old Olivia Pope."

"Yes." That one hit her hard. Her voice cracked when she said it, even though she wasn't expecting to. Fitz frowned, making the anxiety in her chest swell. "I feel helpless sometimes."

Fitz carefully situated Harrison in the crook of his arm and reached across to take Olivia's hand. "I think that you might be experiencing postpartum depression."

"No…" Olivia pulled her hand back. "I had that with Alex, and it was bad. This is different. I'm fine."

Fitz's brow was furrowed in concern. He pulled his phone out and started typing into it.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling in to work. I'm taking the rest of the week off."

"Fitz, you don't have to—"

"Tomorrow, you are going to do whatever the hell you want. Stop by the office. Go for a run. Do some shopping. I'll spend the day with Thomas and pick up Alex after school."

"No…" Olivia protested, even though the thought of a day just to collect herself seemed really appealing.

"Hello? Hey, Dr. Brant." Fitz held his finger up to Olivia to silence her. "I am going to have to take the rest of the week off. Yeah, it is some baby stuff. I'll take a look at the schedule and send a new one in by tomorrow morning. Thanks." He hung up. "I'm not giving you an option." He said sternly. "This is your health that we are talking about. I'm not going to let you carry this all by yourself."

Wordlessly, Olivia reached for Thomas out of his arms and went to put him in his crib. Thomas was still awake, but he was not crying. Only staring at the new world around him in wonder. She returned to see Fitz sitting there, confused. She sat in his lap and hugged his neck. She needed that hug more than anything. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tighter.

"It's okay." He whispered.

She couldn't speak or else she would really crumble into a thousand pieces. She pulled back kissing his lips. She needed desperately to feel like herself again. He could do that for her. He always had a way of making her feel like herself. She hungrily devoured his lips, raking her fingers through his hair. She wasn't thinking, just feeling. All she wanted to do was feel. His muscular shoulders felt so good beneath her hands as she slid one down to his manhood. She was ever so grateful that he had changed into a pair of sweatpants. His dick was hardening, definable through his pants. Olivia was thrilled at that. Feeling sexy was the least of her concerns these past weeks, but he clearly still found her attractive. She let all of her insecurities flow out of her as she groped his cock through his pants, moaning into his mouth.

"Livvie, slow down." He reluctantly pulled back, holding his hand at the nape of her neck. Her eyes were a mixture of exhaustion, fear, and confusion. "We can't do anything."

"I want you." She whispered, her lips were parted as she caught her breath.

"I want you too." Fitz sighed. Clearly, he couldn't hide how much he wanted her. "But you aren't fully healed down there."

Olivia overcorrected herself, her walls of defense coming up. She was climbing off of his lap, and smoothed out her clothes like nothing had just happened. "I, uh… Need to start that load of laundry. Thomas needs clean onesies."

"You should go to sleep." Fitz pulled her back gently to peck her lips softly. "I will move his crib to my side of the bed."

"It will only take a second."

"Livvie." Fitz caught her arm as she tried to pass him. "Go to bed. I am ordering you to do so."

Olivia nodded, dejectedly going to pass out in her bed.

/

The next morning, Olivia woke up much later than she expected to. Between going to bed early and sleeping in, she got over 12 hours of sleep. She immediately went to take a shower. She didn't hear Thomas or Fitz anywhere, but she was determined to take his advice. Today she needed to leave the house and take care of herself.

After showering, she got ready to go to work. Ever since Abbey left, they had been overwhelmed with even their tiniest cases. It didn't help that Abbey's last day was the day before Olivia went into labor.

"I'm going to stop by the office for a bit." Olivia said when she saw Fitz giving Thomas a sponge bath in the sink.

"I'm sure that they miss you." He said, leaning over to give her a kiss. "Before you go, could I get you to pump for Thomas? I don't want to run out today."

"Sure." Olivia took her top off, getting the breast pump out. The pump didn't hurt as much as Thomas's mouth, but it was still awkward. She tried not to make eye contact with Fitz as she pumped. She was still very insecure and embarrassed about last night. She was convinced that she didn't have postpartum depression, but she would welcome a day off. She finished pumping and put her shirt back on.

Olivia kissed his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I can pick up Alex after school. I think I might need to spend some time with her alone."

"That's a good idea." Fitz gently cupped some water and poured it over the back of Harrison's head. He made an _ahhhh_ noise, but then let out a stream of pee. "Woah, there little fella." Fitz chuckled, using his hand to block the stream. Some had already gotten on his shirt.

"Here, let me put your shirt in the wash." Olivia went to pull his shirt over his head, but Fitz stopped her.

"Nope. I am handling all of this by myself. You are baby and baby-adjacent free today."

Olivia hesitated, unsure of whether she should leave him with pee splatters on his shirt. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Of course."

/

"Well this is a surprise." Marcus immediately lifted his feet from the conference room table. Olivia couldn't help but think about how Harrison used to do that, especially when she wasn't around.

"I'm not back for good, clearly, but I needed to get away from the diapers and spit up. Please tell me we have new business."

"We thought we did, but now we aren't so sure." Quinn said, pinning a picture to the wall. "That's Jasmine Jovardi."

"Daughter of Jared Jovardi, granddaughter of Jefferson Jovardi, one of the founding fathers of modern day cinema. A child actress, she made headlines for partying at elusive New York and Los Angeles clubs. Had her first nose full of party powder by 12."

"No need to give me a background. Everybody knows who she is." Olivia said. "Also, nobody says party powder, just call it coke."

"She went to the New York Times with a story of herself being molested and sexually harassed by a list of Hollywood directors and producers."

"So, who are we representing? Her? The accused?"

"Her. But here is the tricky part. The Times refuses to publish it."

"Why? Who on the list has power over them?"

"We don't know." Quinn said in frustration. "But we do know that we can't go up against the New York Times. They could bury us. They have been known to use legal action against their opposition."

"We've taken down foreign heads of state." Olivia reminded. "A dying beacon of print journalism is nothing."

"But, things are different now." Quinn said carefully.

"What do you mean?"

"We are down on manpower. Abbey is gone. You will be away for at least two more months. I told Jasmine that we would consider it in a couple of months."

"That's a couple of months that these directors could cause harm to more women." Olivia said in disgust. "Call her right now, and tell her that we will take her case. And get her justice."

/

Olivia sat across from Jasmine Jovardi. She was still in town from initially approaching OPA, so Olivia wanted to meet with her as soon as possible. Olivia had to admit, she looked different than what she expected. Olivia remembered watching her movies when she was younger. Then, when she fell off of the deep end, her pictures were everywhere. A young, bone thin girl with smudged makeup and messy blonde hair falling out of black cars, flashing the paparazzi. Eventually, Olivia stopped seeing her face amongst the tabloids at the grocery store as people lost interest.

Now, the woman in front of her was nothing like Olivia remembered. Her face was fuller. She seemed more peaceful. She was still beautiful, but the years of adolescent drugs had worn around her eyes and given her a peaceful, yet cautious presence.

"I want you to know that these are questions that the press will ask. I believe you, but I also need to be able to protect you." Olivia handed her a cup of tea. "Why did you wait so long to come forward?"

"I was scared. I mean, for the longest time I thought that it was normal. Then once I realized it wasn't, I felt that I was too far gone. No one would believe a legacy coke head who spent her childhood in mink and Prada. Plus, many of these men were family to me. They ate at my house for Thanksgivings or gave my parents Christmas presents. I didn't realize that I wasn't alone until a close friend of mine came to me with a similar story."

"Why did you continue to work for these men? One could argue that you benefit from these arrangements."

"Tell me how I benefit from being forced into sex acts at 14 by a 36-year-old man. Like I said, I didn't realize how wrong they were. And I thought they were family."

"You have a history of drugs and alcohol. Are you sure that you resisted during these incidents? Was consent made clear?" It hurt Olivia to be asking these questions. Jasmine shouldn't have to explain herself to such invasive and victim-blaming questions. But they were necessary to prepare her for the media hail storm she was going to witness.

"I made it very clear with each perpetrator that I was not interested. But the funny thing about abuse is…" She took a deep breath, her eyes glistening with tears. "After a while, you think that you deserve it. That it is the best you are ever going to get, so you might as well take it."

Olivia set a box of tissues on the table in between them. "I'm going to need to see the list."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to hand it over yet." She ran a nervous hand through her long brown hair.

"I understand why you want to hold on to it. It is the only power you have in this situation." Olivia reached across to pat her hand. "But we are on your side. And if you give me the list, we can corroborate your stories, pinpoint the most influential, and uncover why the NY Times don't want the truth out there."

"And what if you can't?"

"Then we will take down the whole motherfucking lot of them together." Olivia said with a glint in her eyes. It felt too good to be back, and she was hungry for this case. "But know that no matter what, you will be protected."

"By who? You and your three employees? I don't mean to be rude or challenge your competency, but I came by here 3 days ago, and this is the first that you are hearing of it. Congratulations on your baby, but I think you might underestimate the power of these men."

"I don't have to defend our qualifications to you." Olivia said calmly. "You reached out to us, so there is something inside of you that is telling you that we are your best option. I call it my gut, but everybody has a different name for it."

Her eyes were cast down. She sniffled lightly and grabbed a tissue.

"If you don't come forward, then nothing will change. A girl just like you will be put in the same situation, and these men will continue thinking that they can get away with it."

"Okay." She finally said, extending her hand. Olivia noticed a faint scar on her wrist, extending up her arm underneath her bracelets. "I will give you the list."

/

"Hi." Fitz said, happy that she called. "How has your day gone?"

"I just helped the office out with something. I had to pull Abbey from the press podium, but we are about to meet for some coffee. Then I'll pick up Alex."

"What time should I prepare dinner for?"

"Don't. I'll pick something up." Olivia said. "How has your boys' day gone?"

"Turns out he doesn't like Sports Center as much as I hoped, but I wouldn't either, the way they are playing the Raiders' loss on loop."

"Has he been hungry?"

"You would think that he was a fish and your titty milk was the ocean."

"Don't ever say _titty milk_ again."

"Yes ma'am."

Olivia saw Abbey powerwalking towards her, barking into her phone. Olivia smiled at how Abbey looked like a clone of herself. "Abbey is here. I should go. I love you."

"I love you too."

"You look great." Abbey said, taking a seat on a bench facing the White House.

"Quit lying." Olivia rolled her eyes, handing over the second coffee. She watched Abbey's face closely. She had bags under her eyes that were carefully covered with layers of makeup for the cameras. "You look like shit."

"I always envied your addiction to you phone, because it made you seem important. Now I realize it's a curse."

"How many hours of sleep are you getting every night?"

"Three." Abbey sighed. "But last night I spoiled myself to five."

"Seems like we are on the same schedule." Olivia took a sip of her coffee. "How is the President?"

"Overwhelmed. Realizing that there is more to the presidency than pretty speeches and baby kissing." She said honestly. "But the American people are buying it. His approval rating is steady. That is all I can worry about."

"Tell him I said hi." Olivia said.

"You can tell him yourself. Since you came all of this way and my 15 minute window is almost closed, why don't you walk back with me. I can show you the Oval. I'm sure Daniel would move 5 minutes around to say hi."

"Might as well." Olivia honestly wasn't in any hurry to leave. Alex didn't get out of school for another hour. Being around Abbey reminded her of old times.

Abbey signed her in as a guest, and led her to the West Wing. Olivia honestly felt very out of place. She spent the last month in pajamas and covered in baby fluids. Now she was in the most prestigious building in America. The buzzing of men in suits and women in pencil skirts was like home. The general seriousness of everybody's demeanor was familiar.

Abbey notified Daniel's secretary that Olivia Pope was there to see him and that she herself needed his approval on a statement before she released it to the press.

"The President is finishing up a meeting with the Joint Chiefs, but you are welcome to wait in the Oval for him."

Olivia walked into the Oval and thought about how small it seemed. It wasn't her first time there. She got over her awe of it quickly. It was just a room. Now that it was Daniel's office, it seemed even more accessible.

"Has the giddy feeling that you are standing in the Oval Office died down for you yet?" Olivia asked Abbey.

"I thought it would last longer, but now I don't even have time to think about it anymore."

Olivia ran her hand along the Resolute Desk. She turned around, leaning against it, and taking stock of the room. She could imagine someone getting very power drunk in this position.

"Well this is a nice surprise." Daniel came bounding through the door. Olivia immediately straightened up, embarrassed that she was leaning on the desk like that.

"Mr. President." She smiled.

"Anyone who knew me as Daniel before can call me Daniel now." He politely shook her hand. "Abbey, Janice told me that you needed me to sign off on something?"

"Yeah. The afternoon briefing is in fifteen, so I need your green light on this." Abbey handed him a paper, which he sped through.

"Looks good. Remember to call on Jennifer from Buzzfeed. I met her briefly the other day."

"I'll remember that." Abbey turned to Olivia. "I have to go. I'm sorry I haven't been by more often to see the little guy, but I will try to come by."

"It's understandable. You are a little busy." Olivia hugged her goodbye. "It was good seeing you again."

Once Abbey left, Olivia realized that she was probably holding back Daniel's schedule. "I don't want to keep you any longer, I'm sure that you have a million things on your docket."

"I need your help."

"You have an entire White House of people paid to help you."

"I need someone I can trust."

Olivia paused at his tone. It was way too serious with a side of paranoia. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing… yet." Daniel said. "I feel like there are only a few people I can actually trust here. Only a few that have our country's best interests in mind and not just their own. I guess I didn't expect the summit to be even harder than the climb."

"Welcome to American politics." Olivia said dryly. "Abbey is very trustworthy. What about Evan? Annette? You chose a solid team that was loyal to you in the election."

"But they all have functioning roles here. I need someone who I can count on to give me unbiased and clear headed advice."

"An advisor?"

"Yes." He said.

"I'm apolitical. Politics has never been my end game."

"Which is why I need you. You see both sides. If I put my trust in the wrong person, and it blows up in my face, it will be an American issue, not just a Democratic or President Salas problem." He argued. "I understand how it would look to the public to have you on my payroll – like I am hiding something. But I can get it handled off the radar and out of congressional budget view."

"I run my own firm."

"Yes, but you can't go to work yet. You will be on maternity leave for a few more months. I'm talking about a secure line that I can call for advice. Nothing more."

Olivia thought about it. It would be something to help her feel like her own self again. Plus it allowed her to be near her baby while still fulfilling some sense of duty.

"It is rare that not only I trust you, but you are never wrong. I need someone to rely on." He said evenly, but his eyes begged.

Olivia checked her watch. "After school traffic is about to pick up, so I should get going."

Daniel raised his eyebrows for an answer.

"It was nice to see you again." Olivia said. She was making it clear that she was not interested, even though she wasn't sure herself. She could always go back to his offer, but she had too much stuff going on at the moment. Not to mention that she wasn't sure if Daniel was over his feelings for her. _That_ was a can of worms that she didn't want to think about, much less open.

"I understand."

/

Olivia spent the late afternoon with Alex. She took her to Gettysburger and they spent the afternoon walking around the National Mall. Alex loved the street performers with their bucket drums and sticker covered guitars. Olivia would give her a few dollars and watch her prance over to them to put it in their buckets.

"I want to be a street performer when I get big like you." Alex swung Olivia's hand in hers.

"It would take a lot of practice." Olivia said. "And you would have to choose an instrument."

"Any instrument?"

" _Any_ instrument."

"Hmmm…" Alex brought her finger to her chin in thought. "I want to play that." She pointed to a violinist playing a modern rendition of some pop song. "What is that?"

"It is a violin." Olivia said.

"Can I get one?"

"Maybe if you ask for your birthday or Christmas, that can be a possibility."

"But that's so far away." Alex frowned. "How can I practice when I have to wait until December?"

It was true. Christmas wasn't for 10 more months – no doubt that seemed like an eternity.

"Sometimes you have to be patient if it's important enough." Olivia squeezed her hand. "But that doesn't mean that I can't talk it over with your father."

Alex grinned, swinging their gloved hands in the brisk winter air.

/

Olivia swung by the office again to catch a report on the case. Alex didn't mind, and Olivia wanted to enjoy as much work as she could before going home.

"Where are we?" Olivia said, once Alex was in her office and out of ears' reach.

"I think we have hit the motherload of scandals." Quinn said. "This wall contains Hollywood's A list. 27 Academy Awards between all of them. 17 Emmys, and 41 Golden Globes."

"What are we doing to verify her claims?" Olivia said. "If even one has a good enough alibi, then it could pull the whole list into question."

"We are limited there. These incidents lasted anywhere from 10 to 15 years ago. But there is a thread in their correlation. All of the men were all in positions of power relative to her. All of them were either family friends or working on the same project from when she was 13 to 18."

"Why does it stop at 18?"

"That is when she was charged for a DUI and possession of class A and B drugs. She was fined $284,000 and sentenced 6 months plus a rehab facility."

"Must be nice to be rich and white." Marcus said. Olivia shot him a look. "What? I used to defend brothers who would get 15 years for half of that. And no judge ever suggested rehab."

"We have three options here." Olivia paced in front of the wall. There were a few familiar faces. Some she had never seen nor heard of. But no doubt, a story like this would shake up Hollywood. "1: We battle the New York Times. Really dig into why they are refusing to publish it - expose money ties, turn them into a news story. 2: we write our own article. Every sordid detail of each one, exposing all of these bastards. We could release it independently. Option 3: have her write a book."

"That could take too long." Quinn doubted.

"It would take more time, but the profits would be immense. It would be hard to ignore when we advertise it on every bus in Los Angeles, when we have ads on TV where _their_ movies are being played, when we top the New York Times's Best Seller list."

"If we convinced her to donate the profits – or at least some of the profits – to a women's advocacy group… That could be monumental shit." Marcus said.

"I'll reach out to her with full reports of the options. We can let her choose." Quinn said.

"Let me reach out to her." Olivia said. Since Jasmine was skeptical about her abilities while on maternity leave, she needed to show that she was committed to the case. "Send me a detailed document with all of the details and possibilities of outcome. I also want predicted dates for when we could go public with each."

"I'll start vetting potential ghost writers for a book." Marcus offered.

"Good. Be as comprehensive as possible." Olivia was glad to see them taking more initiative. No doubt that her absence was really hard on them. "Get it to me by the end of the day tomorrow."

/

"There they are." Fitz said in his baby voice as Alex and Olivia came through the door. He was wearing sweatpants only, rocking Thomas against his chest. Fitz always made an effort to hold Thomas against his bare chest, and Olivia was always grateful for the visual "How was your day?"

"Really fun." Alex bounced, hugging Fitz's legs, before going over to entertain herself with her dolls.

Fitz greeted Olivia with a kiss. She set the bags of food down, and reached for Thomas. Fitz took over the food duty, pulling out plates.

"How was your day?"

"It was… nice." Olivia reflected. She was tired from it for sure. It had been a month since she really even left the house, let alone spent the whole day all over the city. But it was a positive exhaustion. She felt recharged in a way.

"How was Abbey?"

"Stressed. I can tell that she is too prideful to ask for my help on some things, but she is finding her way. I got to see a bit of the West Wing today."

"Really? That's cool."

"I got a job offer within 15 minutes." Olivia chuckled. Setting plates down on the table, Fitz raised his eyebrows, wanting her to continue. "Daniel, er, _President Salas_ wants to hire me as an advisor."

"You turned him down, right?"

"Yes." Olivia didn't like the way he said that. "But it did make sense."

"To work for him again?"

"No... To work as an advisor." Olivia defended, skirting his loaded question. "I could work from home and it is something to keep my mind active while I'm on maternity leave."

"You know how I feel about him." Fitz said.

"He's the president." Olivia reminded, walking over to set Thomas down in his crib. "You can't pretend that our professional lives will not cross many times, regardless of whether I work for him or not."

"That doesn't mean that you have to intentionally put yourself around him." Fitz said in a harsher tone than he meant.

"You know what?" Olivia threw her hands up. "I don't want to have this conversation right now."

"I'm sorry." Fitz went to touch her shoulder, but she ignored him, walking away to grab napkins for the table. He intercepted her when she doubled back for the silverware, "I mean it." His hands gently rubbed her arms.

"Sure."

"I didn't mean to raise my voice like that." He said honestly.

"It's fine." Olivia nodded, letting him know that it was okay.

He released her to finish setting the table. "Working for the White House is a big deal."

"I already turned him down."

"I know—but I'm trying to say that you could do it if you wanted to." He said. He knew better than to tell her what she _could_ or _could not_ do professionally. He just got a little heated. He had to remind himself that he was over the Daniel situation - and most importantly, it mattered to Olivia that he was over it. Being petty, overprotective and jealous helped nobody.

"I didn't bring it up, because I was planning on persuading you to let me do it." Olivia explained. Thomas began to whine in his crib, so she went over to pick him up. "I was going to say that I might want to focus more on advising through OPA. Have the team send me cases that can be handled long distance, so I can work more from home. Because I missed how it felt to be in the office today. I miss work."

"I think that would be a great idea."

They returned to normal conversation over dinner. Alex filled most of the space with her detailed recap of her school day. She made sure to spend ample time telling Fitz about how Olivia promised to talk to him about getting her a violin. After dinner, Fitz taught Alex some card games to wear her mind out before getting her ready for bedtime.

Once their first born was asleep, Olivia and Fitz started their own nightly routines. Part of Olivia resented how much their schedules reflected the domesticity of parenthood and marriage, but the other part of her found comfort in the fact that they had the routine down perfectly.

"I'm taking tomorrow off as well." Fitz said as he finished brushing his teeth, gargling water afterwards.

"You don't have to do that." Olivia said.

"But I am." He said with finality. "And there is nothing that you can do about it, because I am a grown ass man."

Olivia couldn't help but laugh. "Fine. I guess I can't force you to go in."

"You should go in, if you want to." Fitz said.

"I think I might need to loosen the reins on this case we took on today. I might need to give them room to step up to the plate. But I might have to meet a client at their hotel."

"Anything you need to do."

Olivia kissed his shoulder blade as she reached around him to throw a tissue in the trash. She hesitated, before sliding her arms around his waist and resting her cheek against his back. "I'm sorry about last night." She mumbled.

"You don't have to apologize."

"I was tired, and not thinking—"

"Hey, hey." Fitz turned around tucked his finger under her chin, and pulled her face up to look at him. "I wanted to last night… It's just that you are a little gross down there. No offense, but it still kind of looks like a Tarantino movie."

Olivia cracked a smile at his description. She removed herself from his arms and went to grab a makeup wipe to clean her face with. "I don't know why I am feeling the way that I am. You have given me the more support than I could ever dream of. Thomas is healthy – beautiful. I just want to feel better. I want to be the mother that he deserves. I want to be as good of a mother as you are a father."

"You are—" He rested his chin on her shoulder and watched her reflection in the mirror as she removed her makeup.

"Then why do I feel guilty? Guilty that… I don't know. I shouldn't be here nursing him, and wishing I was somewhere else. I shouldn't be asking myself what I _would_ be doing if I never got pregnant. I mean what kind of mother thinks that, when she has a 3 week old in her arms?"

"Every mother." Fitz said honestly. "These emotions are normal. Your hormones were elevated from the pregnancy, and now they are gone. It in natural to feel down. Having these thoughts doesn't make you a bad mother. This, too, will pass."

"And what if it doesn't?" Olivia whispered.

"They will." Fitz kissed her cheek, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "They did with Alex. They will again."

"Then fix me, doctor." Olivia said with a little amusement, leaning back into his hug. "Tell me what I need to do to stop feeling like this."

"Ask for help." Fitz said. "Whenever you feel overwhelmed, communicate with me. Take time for yourself…Setting time aside to handle work is a good way to feel like your old self again."

"I think I can manage that." Olivia nodded.


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey, all. I apologize for the long break. It was partially because I have been crazy busy, but also because I started writing to the end of the story, and kept forgetting to go back and edit earlier writings to publish. There's about 30k words left in this story, that I will publish frequently coming up.** **I plan to have it all published by the series finale.**

 **This chapter is a little short, but it was a natural stopping point. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **ONE MONTH LATER**

Things got better. Little by little. Olivia found a balance between Thomas and everything else. She started spending more time in the office, bringing Thomas along many times. She was returning to work much sooner than she did with Alex, but Fitz was very supportive of her decision to start back part time. Not to mention, the Jovardi case provided much welcome distraction for her.

She was changing Thomas's diaper in her office when Quinn knocked on her door. "Parker is here."

"Right." Olivia nodded, "I'll be there in just a second." She finished her job, scrubbing her hands clean and placing Thomas back in his crib. She observed the young man in her office, anxiously shaking his foot across his knee. Jack Parker looked to be straight out of college, with the attempts at stubble across his chin. If she had to guess, she would say that he rarely wore a suit, like he was today. When she entered the conference room, he immediately rose, like a school child in the principal's office.

"Mrs. Pope-Grant." He extended his hand.

"Please, take a seat, Mr. Parker." She shook his hand. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I had a diaper change to handle in my office."

"You have a baby?" Jack relaxed visibly.

"Two months old." Olivia smiled. "So excuse the circles under my eyes."

"Congratulations. My fiancé and I are expecting. A baby girl…" He fidgeted in his suit coat.

"Congratulations." Olivia pulled a file in front of her and scanned it. "Do you know why you are here?"

"Sort of… I was told that it was a writing opportunity, but in all honesty." He glanced around at her team. "When Olivia Pope-Grant & Associates calls, you don't ask questions… You just show up."

"We are interested in a ghost writer. Someone who we can trust to be discreet and professional. We have a client who wants to write a memoir with some very inflammatory information, and we _need_ a writer who can make their stories compelling."

"A ghost writer?" He asked. "I'm afraid that I will politely have to decline."

"And why is that?"

"Half of my graduating class are now ghost writers. It's humiliating. It doesn't matter how much you pay me. When the book is published, I will still be in the same spot as I am today: a blank bibliography with no name on the book jacket."

Olivia wrote a number on a piece of paper and slid it across the table. She smirked at the immediate change in his demeanor. "That is your starting bonus."

"S…Starting bonus? What is the rest of it?" He stammered.

Olivia wrote a separate number on a second paper and slid it across the table. "I know this might seem extravagant, but you must know that there won't be any royalties. That is only because any profits will be going to a non-profit organization. You mentioned concern over not having proper credit. Well, we can work out the details of how prominently your name will appear on the jacket sleeve and such… _After_ , you sign the non-disclosure agreement."

He eyed the figures in front of him with suspicion. "How do I know if the subject of this memoir is not morally compromising? I mean, to offer a struggling writer like myself enough to fund my unborn child's college factoring in inflation is more than enough to raise suspicions."

"Have you decided on a name?"

"Lilly. But the middle name is still up for debate."

"The profits from this book will go towards making the world a safer place for Lilly." Olivia said honestly. She held his gaze until even he had to turn away and look at his hands. Olivia slid some forms across the table. "Nondisclosure agreements are the first step. Don't let the steep consequences scare you, it is just to ensure secrecy."

"There is no way I could pay this back if I broke it." He argued at the steep cost of leaking any information.

"Then don't break it." Olivia said evenly.

Jack pulled a pen out of his inner coat pocket and held it right above the line where his signature should go. After a long minute of silence, he signed. Quinn's face dissolved into relief, but Olivia kept her poker face secured.

"Next is your contract." She slid a packet across. "So that you won't have to spend any time away from your family, our client has agreed to meet with you here, in this office. We will set you up in the second door on the right. Anything that you write will stay here. Any editing must be done here. You can only write on our secure devices. This is for your safety and our client's. You will be writing about some very powerful people, and it is crucial that they don't have access to your information."

"Who am I even writing about? The Russian Mafia?"

Olivia took the NDA from him and passed it to Marcus, who glanced over it, nodding to her that it was correctly signed. "You will be assisting Jasmine Jovardi in a memoir."

"Oh." His voice fell in disappointment. "A 90s child star."

"A 90s child star that is about to completely shake Hollywood to its core." Olivia walked over to their wall which was covered in a sheet. She gave the fabric a tug, letting it fall to the floor unceremoniously. "These are the men she is going to write about. All have done some sort of despicable act of sexual abuse to her as a minor."

"Holy shit." Jack Parker couldn't hide the shock on his face. "When do I start?" He mumbled.

"Tomorrow. Jasmine will be here at 9am. Don't keep her waiting." She heard Thomas stirring in her office and began to walk over. "Quinn, please show Mr. Parker out. I suggest you get a good night's rest tonight. You will need your mental energy tomorrow."

/

"Baby is asleep." Olivia whispered as she joined Fitz on the couch. She set the baby monitor on the table, in case Thomas woke up needing anything. He was glancing through the work files she left on the coffee table. "Are you spying on me?"

"Are you going to leave me to seduce some studio executive? Because I know some people in L.A. who could kick their ass no matter how powerful they are."

"Mmmm, I bet." Olivia teased as she curled up into his side. She felt energized from her day at work. This Jasmine Jovardi case was the rush of blood that she needed – that familiar adrenaline rush that left her rejuvenated instead of exhausted. And now, the kids were put down, and she had her handsome husband to relax with. She took his arm and drew it over her side. "Something tells me that they won't be powerful for that much longer."

"I look forward to watching it on the 6:00 news." He rubbed the small of her back. Olivia nuzzled further into his side. Her lips grazed his neck. She reached for his other hand, bringing it to her thigh, and started to plant kisses along his neck. "Wow… So needy."

Olivia pulled back with a teasing eyebrow raised, "So I should stop?"

"I think we both know that I don't want you to stop." Olivia went back to her mission. Fitz pulled her sweater up her back, until his hand was granted access to the dip of her spine. Even with his hand on her back, he was hesitant. Reluctantly, he craned his neck back. "But… maybe you should slow down."

"I don't want to slow down." Olivia mumbled. She sought his lips out, kissing him in a way that made it damn near impossible to refuse.

"Fuck," Fitz moaned, pulling her back. His expression was conflicted, like he wasn't sure himself if he knew what he wanted. "I don't think that this is a good idea… I mean, it is still soon."

"You are concerned about whether or not I am ready." Olivia sighed, moving to straddle him.

"Yeah." He sighed.

"As my doctor or as my husband?"

"As a doctor." Fitz said. He kissed the tender space where her nose met her brow. "As your husband, I would very much like to pin you to this rug."

"I was cleared for sexual intimacy weeks ago. I would hope that you would know this, or else that makes you a bad doctor." She suddenly wondered if there was another reason why he was so reluctant. "You know what… I, uh… I get it." She slid off of his lap and stood up to tidy up her work documents.

"Get what?"

Olivia was silent, ignoring his question.

"What is going on here?"

"Forget _that_ happened." Olivia grabbed the baby monitor and went down into the basement to file away her folders. Fitz sighed, rising from the couch to follow her.

"Liv… Talk to me. Communicate." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, halfway down the stairs. Olivia tried to walk past him, but his arm stuck out, stopping her. "Livvie."

"I guess I thought I was ready. But I didn't consider if _you_ were ready." Her eyes were darting away. "My body isn't exactly back to where it was before. I mean, I haven't been able to get back into my swimming routine."

"So _that_ is what this is about?" Fitz asked. "Shit… I thought that we were past that." He had done everything in his power to assure her that he found her beautiful. Even though her stomach wasn't as flat as it was a year ago, her face was rounder or her thighs were thicker. Baby weight took time to lose, and even if he didn't care either way. He knew that it stressed her out, even though it shouldn't.

"We?" Olivia asked in annoyance. He could rub cocoa butter all over her body every night, but that didn't mean that she was suddenly cured of any insecurities.

"That's not what I meant." He rubbed his hand along her shoulder.

"I said to forget it."

"I want you. _Bad_. I just wasn't sure if you were ready." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead, but she rocked back on her feet.

"I thought I was communicating pretty well that I was ready."

"I know, but there is a difference between thinking you are ready and actually being ready."

"The fuck does that mean?"

"It means, that… Nothing."

"Fitz." Olivia raised her eyebrow.

"Right after giving birth, your hormone levels are still leveling out."

"You are not going to gaslight your way out of this. I'm not crazy for wanting my husband to fuck me."

"I mean that I don't want it to be something you regret." Fitz felt himself digging deeper into the proverbial dog house. Olivia rolled her eyes, walking back down the stairs. "Where are you going?"

"To fold the towels."

"No, Liv. I said I would fold the laundry. You don't have to do that."

Olivia ignored him, walking down to the basket of linens on top of the washing machine.

"Liv, I said that I would do that." He reached for her arm, but she was too quick.

"Leave me alone. Let me fold these towels."

"No. You did the dishes. I said that I would do the towels." Fitz approached her from behind, setting his hands on her shoulders.

"Fitz."

"What can I do to make you not be angry at me?"

"Fuck me." Olivia snapped.

"Liv, come one."

"No, I'm serious." Olivia turned around to face him. "I am horny – which is something I haven't been since I don't know when – and I would like my husband to do something about it. If my husband cannot do that for me because he is not in the mood or tired, then I would understand. Only it isn't. It is because _he_ thinks that _I_ am not ready."

Fitz couldn't help the smile that escaped his lips. It spiraled into a full on laugh. He put his hand over his mouth, trying to suppress it, but his efforts were useless.

"Great. And now you are laughing at me." Olivia rolled her eyes, turning back around to the towels. It was seconds until she felt his hands along her hips. Only they weren't like before. They weren't careful or hesitant. He pulled her hair off of her neck.

"Is this what you want?" He mumbled, with his lips barely teasing her neck. His proximity was giving her chill bumps down her arms.

Olivia turned in his arms. "Stop asking me what I want." He guided her hips to sit on the dryer. She wrapped her legs around his and brought her mouth to his ear. He expected her to whisper something, but instead, she took his earlobe between her teeth and tongue. "Try giving it to me." He began to say something, but she grinded her core against him, making it clear that it was exactly what she wanted.

"If I can't ask, then you will have to beg." Fitz whispered against her ear. She shuddered slightly, making him move in. He kissed along her neck, biting her soft skin, just light enough not to leave a mark.

"Fuck." Olivia gasped. Her hands clamored for fistfuls of his t shirt.

"But you better control your volume." Fitz growled, running his tongue to soothe some of her skin he just stung. "You'll wake the kids."

Olivia never would have imagined that those words could sound so sexy. Her hands clamored for his sweatpants, pulling them down and dragging his t shirt up his abs. She forgot how much of an effect she had on him. He reminded her in the way he almost ripped her leggings off her. His hand snaked up her sweater to grope her breast, making her curse out and pull back.

"No boobs." Olivia shook her head, holding his hands at bay. "Still sensitive."

"Noted." He nodded, going back to kiss her neck. He pulled her leggings down her legs and tossed them across the basement. "Fuck, you weren't wearing underwear this whole time?" He asked in shock, drawing her lips to his.

"You should be more observant of your wife." Olivia whispered against his aggressive lips. "I was trying… to send you hints." She hooked her toes around the waistband of his sweatpants, dragging them clean down his thighs. Normally, she would move slower, enjoying the pleasures of foreplay, but there wasn't a lot of blood rushing to their heads at the moment. She pulled his boxers down, feeling his fully erect dick spring against her thigh. Olivia scraped her fingers through his hair as he lined himself up with her. No matter what, he always needed eye contact with her before entering. When their eyes locked, he waited for her consent. She rolled her eyes, grapping his hips and thrusted him into her, surprising them both.

She choked out a gasp, bowing her head into his shoulder. She forgot how delicious it felt to have him fill her walls. The last time he made love to her, it was right before she went into labor, and that was clouded by a whole lot of other things. The time _before_ that, well, that was way too long ago. He palmed her ass, roughly pounding into her. She was so grateful that he was not holding back—releasing every rough fantasy he had on her. The cold, hard surface of the washing machine was the perfect contradiction to his warm body roughly demanding her.

She couldn't control the moans of pleasure that he was eliciting from her, so he fastened his hand over her mouth. She bit his hand, making him mumble into the crook of her neck, accepting the pain. She was close, but not quite there. He kissed her lips, biting her bottom lip gently when she tugged a fistful of his hair. His hand slid down her slick body to the bundle of nerves. That was her undoing.

"Be quiet when you cum." He growled. Olivia didn't have a choice as she orgasmed into his mouth. He was sure that he had scratch marks across his back. He followed shortly after, finally releasing himself to the pleasure that he had been dreaming of for months.

As they both came down and caught their breath, Olivia realized how sweaty they were. She wiped her hand across his chest. "Shit."

"That certainly wasn't how I expected our first time back at it to go." Fitz grabbed a clean washcloth from the unfolded pile of laundry and wiped them both off, tossing it into the dirty hamper.

" _If I can't ask, then you will have to beg._ " She mocked his voice back to him.

" _Are you going to fuck me or not?_ " He mocked back, earning a tossed towel to the head, giving her the chance to slide off of the washer and find a pair of her own sweatpants from the pile of clean clothes. "I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to call you crazy."

"I know what you meant." She smiled, pulling her pants up. "I should go check on the kids."

"I love you." He pecked her briefly on the lips. "I'll finish folding."

/

 **THE NEXT MORNING**

"Have they arrived yet?" Olivia balanced Thomas in her arms, silently begging him to latch. He was acting fussy that morning, and she just needed him to feed himself so that she could get to work sooner.

"Yeah, they sat down around fifteen minutes ago." Marcus said.

"Shit." Olivia muttered as Thomas finally started to suck. "Did you offer them water, tea, coffee—?"

"Of course. Liv, relax. We have this. You don't have to beat yourself up for not coming in today."

"I will be in as soon as I get Thomas to settle down." Olivia motioned to Fitz who was halfway out of the door, ready for work, to hold on for a second. "Walk by every couple of minutes to check up on her. But don't make it obvious. They need to feel like they aren't being hovered over. I'll see you soon."

"What do you need?" Fitz asked.

"I need you to kiss me before you go off to work." Olivia smirked.

"Right, I'm sorry." He leaned forward to kiss her tenderly on the lips. Their activities last night reminded her that being exhausted could feel wonderful sometimes. However, it could also make her sleep past her alarm the next morning. Even his simple kiss revived something deep and made her forget that at the moment they were both late. He pulled back, kissing her bottom lip again. "You are beautiful when you are distracted."

Olivia's eyelids fluttered open and she rolled her eyes at him. "You can go now."

"Are you sure you don't need me to do anything before I drop off Alex at school?"

"I'm sure. I just need to get this little guy his breakfast and a fresh onesie. Then I'll be on my way to work."

"You know, you don't have to go to work every day of the week yet." Fitz warned.

"I won't be, believe me. But today is a big day. I'll take tomorrow off, I swear."

"Tomorrow is Saturday."

"I know. Which means you will be here to spend it with me." Olivia smiled, drawing his lips to hers again by her hand on his tie. "We can take the kids to a Smithsonian or something. Be normal."

"That sounds nice."

"Bye, Mommy." Alex called from the hallway, where she was entangling herself in her backpack straps. Her hair was pulled up in a half up half down scrunchie, with the part pulled up sitting directly on the top of her head. It was a hairstyle that had the potential to be cute, but her hair was so wild and untamed that it looked more like a mane than hair.

"Have a great day, Alex." Olivia looked up at Fitz. "You did that to her head, didn't you?"

"She said that she liked it." Fitz defended, but then backtracked. "Uh, I can fix it, we have—"

"No, you are already late." Olivia checked his watch. "It's fine. She won't remember in 20 years… Now, _go_." She pushed him out of the door. "Don't forget, Alex, that I will be picking you up after school."

"Bye!" Alex skipped out of their home with her crazy hair. Olivia couldn't help but laugh. If Alex's hair didn't bother her, then she shouldn't have a problem with it. She got Thomas dressed and finished her hair and makeup for work.

When she got to work, she tried to pick up where everybody else was. Her main intention was just to make her presence known. She didn't have too much work to do, but she needed to prove it to herself just as much as she needed to show them that she could have her newborn at work and not skip a beat.

Jasmine Jovardi and Jack Parker seemed to be getting along very well. They were working every time someone peeped a glance walking by, and Olivia could sense some chemistry there. Jasmine had subleased an apartment for two months in D.C. so that she could tell her story to Jack without having to go to a hotel every night. They were on schedule to have all of their sessions finished in a month, and then Jack would write and edit her words into a beautiful novel that would sell millions and change the world.

Olivia had a good feeling in her gut about it. It was rare that her gut gave her a good feeling, but she was confident in this case.

When she arrived at her office building, a familiar voice welcomed her as she was unfastening Thomas's car seat straps.

"Olivia!"

 _Shit_. Olivia mumbled to herself. She turned around to see Noah Baker waving her down. He was one of those mosquitos of a reporter who only covered the most asinine of tabloids. He liked to snoop around her office building to catch wind of any scandals about to break. "Noah. Slow news day?"

"In this town? Never." He grinned. "Cute kid."

"Thanks." Olivia pulled Thomas's blanket over his head.

"Interesting clientele these days, eh? Was that Jasmine Jovardi I saw walking in here an hour ago? I mean, D.C. is a boring place to visit for washed up child star. Something must be stirring in the water."

"Have I ever told you any information about any of my clients?" She asked.

"No…"

"So why do you keep asking?"

"So you are confirming that she is a client." He smirked. "That is on the record, correct?"

Olivia pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed the security for the building. It was a struggle for her to juggle Thomas, her purse, and her work files, but she managed to dial the number. "Hey, Wilson. Yeah, it is Olivia. I'm well, so are the kids. Listen, I've got an unauthorized solicitor on the third level of the parking garage. Could you— _Thank you_. You are the best." She hung up.

"Who was that?"

"Security." She didn't break her stride towards the elevator. "You have approximately 45 seconds to vacate the premises before you meet Wilson. A really nice guy. Ex-marine, I think? Or maybe he was a SEAL. Either way, I'm sure you two will get to know each other." She left him to scamper off of the property

"Wow, your breakfast just flew through you, didn't it?" Olivia cooed when she the familiar smell of a soiled diaper hit her nose. Walking into the office, she made a beeline to the changing station in her office.

"Good morning." Quinn said.

"Good morning." Olivia replied in a baby voice, as Thomas was screaming from the coolness of the baby wipe, and she wanted nothing more than to get him to quiet down. "I ran into Noah Baker in the garage."

"Remember when journalists had self-respect?"

"He knows about Jasmine."

"How much?"

"Just that she's our client."

"What do you want me to do? I can follow him to see if he's going to pursue it."

"I'll handle it." Olivia pursued her lips in thought. "Just give me his office address."

"You are going to talk to him?"

"Bottom feeders like Noah are just trying to get their editors to like them enough to move them to sports or pay them more than $30,000 a year. He could be useful in the future."

/

"This isn't exactly the corner office with a view that I imagined an esteemed journalist would work in." Olivia leaned against the cubicle wall to Noah Baker's desk. The wall was even too flimsy to lean against, as just her weight rattled the pictures and newspaper clippings pinned to it.

"Olivia Pope." Noah Baker dropped his chopsticks into his chow mein take out in shock.

"Olivia Pope-Grant." She corrected, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. "Now I see why you insist on meeting at _my_ work… This is just… sad." She looked at a picture of a young girl cheesing a toothless grin. "Cute kid."

"My sister's." Noah tossed his lunch into the trash, wiping his hands. "What can I help you with?"

"I need you to sign this." She handed over a thick non-disclosure agreement.

"An NDA? I think that kind of defeats the purpose of my job."

"What makes a journalist a journalist is knowing when to open their mouth and when to shut up." Olivia replied. "Right now, it would behoove you to shut up."

"I have something on you." Noah leaned back in his cheap office chair. "I've got you worried."

"What do you have? An actress who hasn't made a film in over a decade visiting me? People are about as interested in Jasmine Jovardi as they are Canadian football players. Publish that you saw her entering D.C. Fixer's office, and it will fade into page 14 of your sad website with less clicks than your twitter follower count."

"What happens if I wait? Or, as you put it, _shut up_?"

"You get to own a story, when the time is right. _Story_ is a little kind. I think it transcends into the _movement_ category."

"What is it?"

"In due time." Olivia handed him a pen. "Sign it."

"What if I don't?"

"Then I will have to spend my unlimited resources burying your forgettable article. It wouldn't take too long, but I do have a newborn son. Any second I can get alone is a blessing."

Noah signed the paper, handing it back to her. "When will we—"

"My people will be in touch." Olivia turned to leave but paused at the entrance to his cubicle. "Show up at my business again, and I will have a legal restraining order issued for stalking."

/

Olivia picked up Alex at three from her school. She made a quick trip to an arts & crafts store so that Alex could work on her model of the solar system at the office. Her office color was littered with Styrofoam balls and paint bottles when Alex let out an exasperated sigh.

"What's wrong?" Olivia looked up from her work.

"I can't do this." Alex cried.

"Of course you can." Olivia gladly set aside her financial documents to join Alex on the floor. "What is tripping you up?"

"Pluto is too small." Alex pointed to the diagram on the handout her teacher gave her. "It is point one eight the size of Earth. But Jupiter is eleven times the size of Earth. And the sun is 109 times as big."

"So what is the problem?"

"If I have to make it a _model_ , then Pluto would be a speck and the Sun would take up the whole room!"

Olivia tried not to laugh at her daughter. She was so incredibly smart, but so damn serious. "I know, but you just have to do the best you can."

"But it is _wrong_." Alex protested.

"Alex." Olivia said calmly, in spite of her outburst. "It doesn't have to be accurate, you can only do your best, okay? As long as Pluto is smaller than Earth, Earth is smaller than Jupiter, and Jupiter is smaller than the Sun, then you did your best. That is all you can ever do, right?"

Alex shrugged.

"So, what is the smallest ball?" Olivia asked.

Alex reached for a small Styrofoam ball the size of a pea.

"So what planet should that be?"

"Pluto." Alex placed it on the Plato place marker.

"Perfect. How about you organize the planets and paint them, then I'll help you hot glue them." Olivia looked up to see Jack Parker in her doorway, unwilling to interrupt. She motioned that he would be with him in the conference room. "Only paint over the newspapers. I don't want any of Uranus's atmosphere on my floor."

"Okay." Alex nodded.

Olivia went into the conference room to meet with Jack. He was facing the wall of accused men, rocking back and forth on his feet. "Is everything okay?"

Olivia's words made him pivot around. "Yeah, everything is fine. We finished for the day, and I just wanted to debrief before I go home."

"So… How was it?" Olivia leaned against the conference table.

"It went well. I think this will be a fascinating story to write."

"Great."

"I do have to ask… And I want you to be honest with me."

"Of course." Olivia watched his nervous behavior closely.

"How big is this going to get? I mean, in terms of changing Hollywood and sexual harassment? I'm trying to wrap my head around it, and I just can't."

"To be honest, I can't answer that. I can only hope that it is as big as we think it will be. And if it is…" A strange smirk came over her face. "Then it will change everything."

"Then I guess I better write the hell out of this book."

"You better."


	26. Chapter 26

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

Olivia sighed heavily, to herself.

"Was I that bad?" Fitz chuckled.

"The opposite." She mumbled. "I'm just thinking about how I have to get up in five hours and go to work."

"You could always _not_."

"I know." Olivia understood where he was coming from. She was spending a lot of time in the office. It was only because things were heating up on the book. She was vetting publishers, working out the logistics of a release, all while keeping everything entirely secret. She didn't know what was going on in the room with Jasmine and Jack – OPA gave them their privacy – but sometimes when she walked by, she would see them both crying, hugging, or laughing. Real emotion seemed to be pouring out of that woman's life story. "I love our kids, I really do. I would just like a week where we could go back to before they existed. Where this could happen every night. Not just when we both have the energy."

"I never knew you without Alex. I think it's all Thomas's fault."

"Hmmm." Olivia laughed. "It must be the 50% of him that comes from you that makes him so exhausting."

Fitz didn't object, as he softly traced his fingers along her shoulder. It was nice just to lay with her. "Can you imagine the sex we would have had pre-Alex?"

"It is hard to imagine it being better." Olivia smirked.

"Touché. But I would have pinned you to every piece of furniture in that apartment of yours and you never would have had to control your volume." He shifted so that he could kiss the crook of her neck. "And I would have done it over and over."

"Careful." Olivia laughed out loud, grabbing his hand that was rounding her thigh to a very sensitive part of her body. "Remember the five hours of precious sleep I can get before tomorrow?"

"Fair enough." Fitz gave up, pulling her back against his chest to cuddle.

"Which do you think will interrupt this first? Your phone or the baby monitor?"

"$25 says your son." Olivia said.

"He's only _my_ son in the middle of the night, huh? Money means nothing to me. Let's make a real wager."

"Like what?" She raised her eyebrow in the challenge.

"If Thomas cries before your phone rings, then I will be on night duty for an entire week."

"And if my phone rings first then I will be… You are on."

"I can't wait until I can sleep an entire week without your hand slapping me on the face mumbling that it is my turn." Fitz joked.

"Yeah, right." Olivia elbowed him in the ribs. They settled for a couple of blissful moments of silence. Olivia was thinking that maybe it would be a silent night for once.

Then their doorbell rang. Olivia pulled back to look at Fitz. "I'll get it, I guess."

"No, I've got it." Fitz rose from the bed and pulled a shirt over his head.

"We were just waging who would not have to get out of bed, and now you are insisting on it."

"My masculinity won't allow my half-dressed wife to answer the door when a murderer could be there." He quipped, making his way to their front door.

Whoever was at their door at midnight was ringing the doorbell continuously. He didn't check the peephole before opening the door, in hopes that any more noise would wake Thomas and make him lose his bet. He wasn't prepared for the woman across his doorstep, with paranoid eyes shedding tears down her cheeks.

"Um… Can I help you?"

"Is Olivia?" She sniffled.

"Uh, Liv?" He called back into the house. The woman in front of him looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place her. It was too late in the night for his mind to run through all the celebrities he had seen on tv or in the tabloids, but he was sure that she had been there before.

"What is it?" Olivia came over, wrapping a robe tightly around her frame. "Jasmine? What is going on? Here, come in." She helped Jasmine come inside.

"I'm so sorry, I meant to call, but I didn't know if they were listening. I was just so scared."

"It's fine, it's fine. Come sit down." Olivia held Jasmine as if she would crumble to the floor. It appeared as if she could at any second. She guided her to the couch. "Are you hurt? Did someone touch you?"

"Not yet." She choked.

Olivia was worried that she was having a panic attack. She was also acutely aware that Fitz was standing by the door, confused by everything. His presence wasn't helping anything. If Olivia was going to calm Jasmine down, it just had to be the two of them.

"Fitz, could you give us a minute?" Olivia asked. She would explain everything to him, but it wasn't the time.

"But—"

"Check on Thomas for me, and I'll meet you upstairs." Her eyes pleaded for his cooperation. Everything was fine, she just needed to get Jasmine to explain, so she could get to the bottom of it.

"Let me know if you need anything." He nodded, climbing the stairs.

Olivia turned back to Jasmine, taking her hands in hers. "I need you to calm down. Take a few breaths with me, okay?"

Jasmine nodded, taking deep inhales and exhales at Olivia's cues.

"You are safe here. I've got you." Olivia smoothed Jasmine's hair and wiped her cheeks with a tissue until her breathing finally returned to a healthy rate. "So, why don't you start from the beginning."

"It all started with a call from my _friend_." Jasmine refused to name the friend who told her of the experience that she had with one of the men on her list—the friend who made her realize that others had the same experiences that she did.

"Is this the _friend_ that you can't name?"

"Yeah, that one… She called me saying that she received an anonymous threat on her landline answering machine. The number was untraceable and it as one of those voices that they use so you can't tell who is talking, but… We both know where it came from." Jasmine fidgeted with the tag of the tea bag steeping in her mug. "I initially dismissed it – I isolated that incident from my own. But then I got home yesterday to start packing early and found the same message on my apartment's machine. I opened my suitcase, and there was a copy of _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_."

Olivia knew what that meant. It was the book that she was reading for her home school tutor the first time she was raped. August Alsino, a close family friend and esteemed producer, cornered her while her parents were gone and offered to help her with the study questions. Then, he raped her. That was the start of it all. Olivia remembered reading that book in 8th grade to prepare for her summer reading for high school. The thought of a grown man forcing himself on her as she was eagerly flipping the pages made her want to cry herself.

"I immediately booked a hotel room under a fake name. I found a similar message on my hotel room's machine. I swear, I am not paranoid, but it is like everybody is watching me. Like any random dude on the corner is actually someone planted by _him_ to scare me." Jasmine became hysterical, tears streaming down her face again.

"You are safe here. Just _breathe_." Olivia put her hands on Jasmine's knees which were clutched at her chest. "He can't touch you here."

"I'm so sorry." Jasmine rose in a rush. "I shouldn't have come here. You have a family. We don't know what he is capable of, and you have two children and a husband. I am endangering—"

"Sit down." Olivia demanded.

"—I appreciate what you have done, truly, but I guess I can never escape—"

" _Sit down_." Olivia said with great resolve. Jasmine slid back to the couch. "We _will_ protect you."

The air was suddenly silent, and Olivia wondered if her voice had woken Alex or concerned Fitz even more. She sat across form Jasmine and spoke slow and deliberately.

"He can't touch you here. Nobody can. We will figure this out, but to run away right now, only gives him what he wants – control." She pulled out her cell phone. It rang a few times, but her Gladiator always picked up. "Huck—secure the safe house. _Yes_ , the safe house. I will explain when we get there. I don't care if you have to update the firewall… Why wasn't that done already? You know what, it doesn't matter. Let me know when we can get on the move." She hung up. "Stay here. I'll make some tea to settle your stomach. I will be right back. _Don't_ move. Promise me that you won't run."

Jasmine just stared at her hands.

"Jasmine, _promise_ me. Nod your head."

When Jasmine finally nodded her head in agreement, Olivia went upstairs to see if Alex and Thomas were still asleep and oblivious. They were. She went into her bedroom and found Fitz sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Is everything okay?" He stood up, the second she entered the door.

"Yes, everything is fine. But, I need to tell you something, and I need you not to overreact."

"What is it?"

"My client needs to spend the night in our basement."

"No way…"

"Fitz—"

"What part of 'I don't want you bringing your work into our home' do you not understand? We have boundaries that we agreed on."

"I know, I know. If I could snap my fingers and make this all go away, I would. But she has really powerful men out to kill her, and—"

"The next plausible thing is for her to sleep directly beneath our children."

" _Until_ we get the safe house operating."

"Safe house?" Fitz scoffed. "Do you hear yourself right now? Since when does OPA have safe houses? This isn't B6-13."

Olivia flinched at the mention of B6-13. "OPA has always had a safe house, you just were not aware." She spoke in a calm and measured tone that was even more frightening to Fitz than her screaming. "We use it for when a client feels unsafe or threatened. Huck just has to update the firewall."

"What did you get yourself involved in?" Fitz asked.

"Justice." Olivia snapped. She sighed, realizing that she overstepped and went to sit on the edge of the bed. She held her head in her hands and rocked back and forth. "This is not ideal."

Fitz sat on the bed a couple of feet from her. "Why does your job always have to complicate things."

"Don't say it like that." Olivia moaned.

"Like what?"

"No matter what, I am always the one driving this imaginary wedge in between myself and our family because I have a demanding job." She stood up and went over to grab the baby monitor off of her night stand. "But I am not going to _defend_ the fact that what I do is important, especially to you, especially tonight. I will probably be up all night, so I will be on Thomas duty. Don't worry, I'll set her up in the basement, so Alex won't be traumatized in the morning." She scoffed as she went back downstairs.

/

The next morning, Fitz's alarm woke him up. He moaned in misery at the fact that the other side of the bed was empty. There was always that moment of confusion, after they spent the night apart. He noticed that the baby monitor was missing. He rolled out of bed and made his way downstairs for a cup of coffee. Olivia was in the kitchen, rocking a complacent Thomas in her arms. She was fully dressed for work, even her makeup done.

"Good morning." She said flatly, acknowledging Fitz.

"I didn't hear you get ready this morning."

"I used the guest bath."

"Where did you sleep last night?"

"I didn't." And she wasn't lying. She situated herself on the living room couch, but she couldn't seem to catch a wink of sleep. She kept running Jasmine's story through her head. She kept staring at the door as if some film noir likened villain would come through like the classic Hollywood movies that Jasmine's grandfather made.

"Where is your friend?"

"My _client_ left for the safe house 30 minutes ago."

"Is Alex awake?"

"No, I wanted to let her sleep in. She has her dentist appointment at 10, so she'll just go back to school after lunch. Can you take her to that? I'm going to have to go in today."

"I can't." Fitz admitted, checking the calendar. "I've got department meetings all day that I can't move."

"Shit." Olivia mumbled. "Never mind. I'll do it."

"There is no way that you are taking Alex and Thomas to a safe house – whatever that even means."

"Safe houses are safe." Olivia rolled her eyes. "That's kind of the point."

"I'm serious, Liv."

"And so am I." Olivia squared her shoulders and looked at Fitz dead in the eyes. "Look at me. Would I ever do anything to deliberately put our children in danger?"

"I would hope the answer is no." Fitz couldn't say it, himself. He knew she wouldn't, but he didn't trust her all of the same.

"The answer _is_ no." Olivia shifted Thomas in her arms. She understood Fitz's anger and reluctance, but she wasn't going to show how much his answer hurt her. She didn't have time to explain that their _safe house_ was a 2 bedroom craftsman style cottage an hour from the office, and not an underground basement with armed guards. "I won't have service for a majority of today, but I will check in with you when I can. I'll go get Alex up."

/

"Sorry I'm late." Olivia acknowledged her team as she came through the garage door of the safe house. "Clearly, I've had a change of plans." She motioned to the newborn in her arms and child by her side. "Give me a minute." She set Alex up with some toys in the spare bedroom and prayed that Thomas would have a chill morning and not cry at his new, strange environment.

"Good morning." Marcus said, handing her a coffee. "Someone didn't get any sleep last night."

"Hmmm." Olivia nodded, taking a hearty sip. She saw Jasmine and Quinn, but no Huck. He was supposed to be taking Jack from the office to the safe house in an untraceable way. "Huck isn't back yet?"

"He should be any minute." Quinn offered to take Thomas from Olivia's arms, freeing up Olivia's hands.

Olivia circled around the kitchen table, where papers and photos were strewn all over. "First, we need to cover our asses. Make sure that no security breach tipped off Alsino. Right now, he is the only one who we know for a fact, knows about this book – or at least Jasmine's attempts to come forward. We need to figure out how he found out, and how much he knows. Once we get that down, we can have a clearer image of what we are working with."

Everybody froze when they heard a car pull up. Marcus peered out of the shades to see Huck's car pulling in the garage. He nodded to Olivia, letting her know who it was.

"Jack's not in the passenger seat." Marcus said.

Olivia went into the garage as the automatic door closed behind the car. "Where is Jack?"

"I had to be careful." Huck said sternly as he circled the car and opened the trunk. He lifted a tied and gagged Jack Parker out of the trunk, quickly undoing the constraints.

"What the fuck did you do?" Olivia asked.

"I have the same question." Jack rubbed his wrists. "Where am I? What is going on?"

"Go inside, I'll explain in a minute."

"I'm not going anywhere until you explain why I showed up to an empty office and the next thing I know is I'm riding in the trunk of a car. Where are we? Pennsylvania?"

"Leesburg, Virginia. You weren't out that long." Huck said.

"Huck?" Olivia asked. "What the hell did you do?"

"You told me to get Jack here without anybody being able to trace me… So I did."

"Jesus Christ, Huck, I meant to take some back roads, not go all _Taken_ on him."

"Sorry." Huck stared at his feet.

"Don't apologize to me." Olivia said.

Huck looked at Jack with the most uncomfortable look on his face. "Sorry."

"Don't mention it." Jack said with a hint of sarcasm. "So why are we here?"

"Come inside." Olivia motioned for him to follow her. She briefed him on everything that was happening. As far as a game plan, they were to continue with the book as usual. OPA would try to trace the leak and find more info on Alsino as they finished up the last chapters. Jasmine would stay at the safehouse until the book was finished, and Jack would find a way to get there that wasn't so uncomfortable.

Jasmine and Jack occupied the other bedroom to continue their work, as OPA worked in the living room to try to get to the bottom of the leak.

"Obvious source is Noah Baker." Marcus said. "Leaking stuff is literally his job."

"The NDA is airtight." Quinn argued. "Even the loosest lips wouldn't spill."

"No records of being paid off in his banks statement." Huck piped in.

"Wow…" Quinn looked at his computer screen. "Even I would break the NDA if my savings were that low."

"He could have done it unintentionally." Olivia said. "Is there a way that we can see if his devices have been compromised?"

"Not remotely." Huck said. "But if you connect it to this special drive I made, I can copy the firewall coding and check for any tears."

"Quinn, pay him a visit in his office. Do whatever tech stuff Huck tells you to."'

"Gotcha." Quin got ready to leave.

"Don't reveal that we have a leak. Just tell him that random sweeps are a part of the contract."

"They are?"

"No, but I doubt he will check."

/

Olivia didn't make it home until early that evening. She was exhausted and was barely seeing straight. She did manage to find a last-minute babysitter to take Thomas and pick up Alex from school so that she could focus on work, but they made no progress on the case. Noah's computer and phone turned up clean. He genuinely seemed to not have any clue about a leak and was only annoyed that Olivia had yet to give him a scoop for signing the NDA. They were back to square one with no new leads. All of the stress of the unknown and dark shadows around the case had Olivia on the verge of tears. Only the tears were too exhausted to actually fall. She realized that as she turned her key in the front door that she wouldn't even find comfort at home. Fitz was home, which meant that the sitter she found last minute had already gone home. She couldn't fight with him, especially after the 36 hours of no sleep that she had.

"Mommy!" Alex screamed, running towards her with open arms.

"Hey, baby." Olivia crouched down to catch her, putting on her best face. "How was school?"

"It was alright." Alex shrugged. "How was work?"

"I did boring work things and wished that was spending it with you." Olivia kissed her forehead. Alex had gotten in the habit of asking Olivia and Fitz about their days as a way to try to seem more grown. Olivia thought it was adorable. "Where is Daddy?"

"Thomas got stinky, so Daddy is in his room."

Olivia set her purse down and plugged her phone in. Alex cocked her head to the side and stared at Olivia. "What?" Olivia asked.

"Aren't you going to go kiss Daddy like you always do when you come home?"

Her question caught Olivia off guard. She realized how strange it must be to see her parents not running into each other's' arms like usual. She deflected the best that she could, "I will see him when he's done changing Thomas's diaper, but I am more interested in seeing the pretty paintings that you painted."

Around painting number four, Fitz came down the stairs. "Hi." He said. "I thought I heard you down here."

"Hi." Olivia got up and kissed him briefly on the mouth, only because she didn't want Alex asking any questions. She wondered if Alex could sense how cold his lips felt against hers. "Where is Thomas?"

"Napping." Fitz said. He was being short but still disguising his tone just enough.

"Alright… Well I am going to go do the same." She helped Alex clean up her things before making her way upstairs. She changed into some comfortable clothes and was knocked out the second her head hit the sheets. She didn't even see Fitz in the doorway, watching her with a drown on his face.

/

"Mommy…" Alex gently poked Olivia's ribs until she stirred.

"What time is it?" Olivia immediately sat up.

"7:30." Alex giggled at seeing her mom disoriented like that.

"AM or PM?"

"Uh… The night one." Alex cocked her head, as she hadn't quite grasped the whole time concept. "Daddy says that dinner is ready."

"Right, uh…" Olivia kissed Alex's head. "Why don't you go help Daddy set the table? I'll be right there." She sat up slowly, trying to stop the raging headache ramming itself against her skull. She drank a glass of water and freshened up her makeup before going to join them at the kitchen table.

"Good morning." Fitz said with a slight snark that was undetectable to Alex.

"Has he been fed lately?" Olivia picked up Thomas and kissed his forehead.

"Thirty minutes ago."

"Thank you." Olivia sat him back down. She kissed Alex's head in passing. "I need to pump then I'll be right back." When she sat down, Fitz had fixed her plate for her. "How was work?"

"Fine." Fitz said. Olivia waited for some type of elaboration. Even if his day was boring, he still had some details.

"Did those meetings go well?"

"Yeah."

Olivia shot him a look. "Dinner tastes really good. You should keep this recipe."

"Okay." Fitz said, taking a bite. Alex was picking up on the awkwardness in the room. Olivia watched her tiny eyes dart back and forth, as she tried to understand why her parents were acting so strange.

"Are you mad at each other?" She blurted.

"No, baby." Olivia defended, smiling convincingly enough for Alex's sake. "I think Daddy is just tired from all of the meetings he had."

Alex shrugged, getting back to her food.

"Sidebar." Olivia motioned for Fitz to go to living room. "Grow up." She whispered the second they were out of ear's reach.

Fitz scoffed, crossing his arms.

"I don't care if you are mad at me, but our daughter detected that something was wrong the second that I came through the door, and I would rather not start a long cycle of therapy for her ten years down the road as she questions why her parents were waging subliminal warfare over dinner."

"Whose fault is that?" Fitz raised his eyebrow.

"You know what? I _really_ don't want to have this conversation with this tired."

"I bet."

"Fuck you." Olivia mumbled and began to walk away, but she paused herself, turning back to face him. "We _will_ have this conversation after the kids are put to bed. In the meantime, use your common sense and act like you don't want to kill me."

Any rebuttal that Fitz had was silenced by her leaving the living room to go back to the dinner table. When he returned to his seat, it was like she was back to normal, asking Alex about whatever Alex wanted to talk about. It was a clockwork countdown of getting Alex her bath, reading her a bedtime story, and making sure she was asleep.

Olivia fed Thomas one more time and gave him a bath. He was far from developing a dependable sleep schedule, but as long as he wasn't fussy, she couldn't complain.

"Hey, there." She cooed, laying him on his stomach on the bed. She placed a rattler just out of reach. "Come on, reach for it, love. Tire yourself out so that both of us can go to sleep."

Thomas struggled to raise his head. His eyes settled on the rattler as he squirmed. Olivia watched him find his hand and reach forward.

"You've got it. Just a little further."

Thomas finally wrapped his pudgy fingers around it, drawing the toy back to him.

"Yay! Great job." Olivia knew that he had no understanding of what she was saying, but it was even therapeutic for her to talk to him in that baby voice. She wished that her life could be that simple – a bunch of confusing colors and noises but a warm onesie and full stomach. There had to be some sense in his infant body that let him know that he was loved, even if he didn't know what that meant yet.

Fitz stood in the doorway, watching their exchange. He cleared his throat, letting her know of his presence. Olivia set Thomas down in his nursery. "Well?" She asked, when she returned to their bedroom.

"Well?" He repeated back to her.

"Do you want me to jump straight into explaining why my job is so important, or should I let you berate me as a woman who doesn't put her family first?" Olivia asked.

"Go ahead." Fitz muttered as he went to the closet to pick out his pajamas. "Tell me how important your work is."

Olivia rolled her eyes in a heavy sigh. "I don't understand why you are so mad at me. If I could control the universe, I would have willed that Jasmine Jovardi never showed up at my doorstep last night. But she did. And I have a duty to protect my clients, _especially_ if I convinced them to take a risk like she did."

"But why does it have to be in our home? With our children sleeping one floor above them? I am understanding of your job. I know that you do high level shit, and a lot of it is stuff that I am not meant to understand. I am fine with all of that. I will bend to that. But this is too much. This is infringing on the home that _we have built_."

Olivia stopped herself from saying something rash, leaning against the wall. "Do you ever think about Alex's future?"

"All of the time."

"I mean, do you ever actually think about details of it. How she will one day graduate from college and start a career in whatever she is passionate about?"

"Of course. I think about it all of the time."

"Today, when I was driving her back from the dentist, she told me that she wanted to be a dentist. That either means we chose a great family dentist or she just wants access to the roll of sparkly stickers that he gives to his patients." Olivia chuckled softly. "And I'm sure she will change her mind a thousand times before it matters. But I couldn't help but think about what happens when she gets a career? She will enter a space that is, more than likely, ran by men. Her success will be determined by those men in higher positions than her. By the men that got to where they are with a fraction of the effort that she put in to be below them."

"Of course." Fitz defended. "The workplace is inherently sexist. Do you not think that I know that?"

"Do you ever imagine Alex being raped?" Olivia could barely say the words herself. The things that she had tried to keep from her mind always snuck in – in her worst nightmares.

"What the fuck kind of question is that? Of course I don't imagine our daughter being raped."

"Well, she might." Olivia said, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"I would kill—"

"It would be too late." Olivia walked over to Fitz, taking his hand in hers. "My client was raped, abused, and psychologically trained to think that all of those horrible things that she went through was normal. She had a normal home. One even more perfect on paper as ours. But that didn't protect her. It was a small price to pay to succeed at what she was passionate about. As horrific as it has been to sit with her on the couch in my office and hear her recant all of the terrible things that she has been through, it is even more painful to think about how many girls have gone through the same thing. How the abusers get away with it, because they have just enough money or power to wager success over silence. And what cuts even deeper is how many girls will have to endure it in the future." Olivia found herself near tears.

Fitz took a seat on the edge of their bed.

"So after convincing my client that no matter how terrifying it is to stand up against these giants that have mistreated her, it is way more worth it to take a stand and expose the disgusting systems of power, when she shows up at my doorstep terrified, alone, and finding herself victim to the same men who have held her safety hostage for years, it is my duty to protect her and make sure that she has the ability to carry through with her courageous decision to stand in her truth."

Fitz was still silent to her monologue. Olivia went to sit next to him on the bed. She bowed her head into her hands.

"I genuinely wish that our safe house was upgraded and ready for her to move to immediately. I wish that Alex didn't have that dentist appointment, and I didn't have to drag her to work with me. I wish I didn't have to _explain_ this to you, I wish… I wish you would understand that every action I make is not without considering the safety and future of our family."

"I don't know what you want me to say." Fitz whispered. "…I'm sorry."

"This morning, when I asked you if I would ever put our kids in harm's way, you said ' _I would hope the answer is no_.' Why didn't you just say no?"

"I was angry."

"You don't trust me."

"No, that's not it." Fitz kissed her shoulder.

"Then what is it?" Olivia asked.

"I was angry and frustrated. I was mad that you didn't listen to my concerns." He rubbed her back. "I promise that I trust you."

"I'm going to sleep with Alex tonight." Olivia took a deep breath. "You are on baby duty."

"Sleep in this bed with me. Come on, Livvie." Fitz hated the thought of falling asleep in an empty bed. He didn't fully understand how mad she was at him to choose to sleep in a different room again.

"Not tonight." Olivia kissed his hair, letting him know that she just wanted space. After the day she had, she needed to hold her daughter close as well. She curled up in Alex's cramped twin bed, smiling at how Alex automatically drew her closer. In her sleep. Olivia kissed her fragrant coconut curls and thought about how she would never ever let anything harm her.

/

 **ONE WEEK LATER**

Fitz woke up at the best time: twenty minutes before Olivia's alarm went off. This was his favorite time to wake up, because it allowed him enough time to wake Olivia up how she liked to be woken, while not having her rush off to the shower or be grumpy that he woke her up too soon.

In the pitch-black darkness, he found her body laying on her side, facing away from him. He pulled her hair to the side and began to kiss her shoulder just light enough to gently bring her back to consciousness, but deliberately enough to let her know that her day was going to start with her husband making love to her. She stirred slightly, mumbling something incoherent.

He decided to take it one step further, pulling her ass back against his stomach. He could tell that she was slowly coming to by the way her back arched when he found her nipple. He softly teased it through the silky fabric of her nightgown. It hardened between his fingertips, earning a sleepy, appreciative moan.

"Fitz…" She whispered.

"Good morning, love." He replied, kissing the sensitive spot behind her ear. The blood was already flowing to his member. He shifted his hips so that she could feel it against her ass.

" _Grant_." She whispered harshly. He immediately withdrew his body from hers. That was their unofficial safe word, and she rarely used it.

"I'm sorry, I—"

" _Shhh_." Olivia whispered. He was so confused. Not only was waking up to sex one of her favorite things, but she was acting strange. "Alex." She barely whispered.

"What?"

She guided his hand to the other side of the bed, where a smaller body was resting. Fitz moaned, falling back to his side of the bed. His erection was now uncomfortable, knowing that his daughter was three feet away from him. He carefully removed himself from the bed, not wanting to shake it and wake up Alex. Once in the bathroom, he splashed cold water on his face. The faucet was loud enough for him to not hear the bathroom door open and close.

"Need help with that?" Olivia smirked.

"I need our daughter to stop cock blocking me." He moaned.

Olivia chuckled, locking the door. She knew their time was limited before Alex woke up or Thomas started crying. She had to make it count. When she got within touching distance, Fitz pulled her close, immediately taking his breath away with his lips on hers. His hand subtly found the entrance to her skin between her pajama top and bottoms, but she had different plans. Any move he made to slowly undress her, she thwarted.

"Livvie." He groaned, annoyed. He knew their time was limited, and quite frankly, he didn't have much patience.

"Relax." Olivia whispered in a voice so throaty, his dick twitched against her stomach. She backed him up to the counter. "I've got this."

He raised an eyebrow at where she was taking this. Her tongue slowly slid against his as she kissed him deeply. One hand was invested in his curls, and the other was sliding down his bare chest to the waistband of his pajama pants. She slipped her wrist into his pants, firmly stroking his dick. Fitz took a sharp breath at the sensation of her hand against his uncomfortable erection. Just like he knew all of the ways to make her moan and orgasm, she knew how to play him like putty. She pulled back from the kiss to give his neck some attention. He couldn't just stand there and take the hand job and attentive kisses. His hands pulled her night gown up to bunch at her waist, but her free hand stopped him.

"Just relax, okay?" Olivia's warm eyes carried a hint of mystery in them as she met his eyes. She slowly kissed a trail down his chest, in between his pecs and down his washboard abs. He held his breath as she reached his happy trail. His pants were pulled down to his ankles as she peppered kisses around his pelvic bone. Her eyes flashed up to his as she wrapped her lips around his tip, tasting his salty precum.

"Livvie…" He exhaled the breath that he didn't even realize he was holding in. He held her hair back as she began to blow him. He couldn't take his eyes off of her as she worked the techniques she had mastered over the years to please him. What made it even sexier was that she genuinely seemed to enjoy it. She was enjoying the appreciative responses she was eliciting from him.

She took him so deep that he could feel the back of her throat.

"Oh _my god_." Fitz gasped.

" _Shhh._ " Olivia demanded. She was right. He had to control his volume. Being a parent meant enjoying the pleasures of a wife without waking the kids. Just like he had to latch his hand to her mouth when they were making love, he had to control his own volume. Olivia reached up to cover his mouth, but instead of stifling his moans, he took two of her fingers into his mouth, sucking hard and biting lightly.

Olivia lost her own control as she growled deeply into his dick, deep throating it until it made the back of her throat scream. Fitz latched his own hand over his mouth to stifle his approval. He bucked his hips into her, uncontrollable as he spilt his seed into her. Blackness clouded his vision as he came. When he came to coherent though, Olivia was rinsing her mouth with mouthwash.

"Thank you." He gasped, reaching his hand across her stomach, pulling her to him. Olivia let him pull her to him, holding his cheek in her hand. He was determined to reciprocate. He pulled her lips to his, tasting the minty mouthwash off of her tongue, but Olivia was hesitant, pulling back. "What?" He asked.

"Wait for it…" Olivia put a single finger against his lips. As if she had psychic abilities, Thomas's screams pierced the baby monitor. "Shower. I'll take care of Thomas. I'm sure Alex is sleeping through all of it."

Fitz sighed as his wife slipped away to take care of their children. He showered quickly. By the time he was done, she was juggling Thomas in her arms, trying to get him to latch and stop crying.

"I feel bad that I couldn't repay you." He said, pulling his work pants over his legs.

"I know, but don't have time. I need to get to work as soon as possible." She winced as Thomas latched onto her nipple. No matter how many times she breast fed, it hurt like a bitch every time.

"Still no leads?" He asked, grabbing the burping cloth and placing it at her side for when she needed it.

"Nope. It's hard to ensure Jasmine that she is safe, when we don't even know how to protect her. It doesn't help that she's feeling cagey. I mean, it has been a week since she has been able to contact anyone let alone leave the safe house."

"You'll figure something out. You always do." He kissed her temple, letting his lips linger against her skin. "I'll go get Alex ready for school."

"Leave her hair for me. I got her this new scarf to put in it. Plus she wants her hair done like Shuri." Olivia chuckled at Fitz's clueless expression. "It's a character in Black Panther. I know how to do it."

/

"Goddamn, this commute _sucks_." Marcus said, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Language." Olivia hissed, rocking Thomas in her arms, as if his brain was developed enough to pick up cursing. "Just be grateful I bought a coffee maker for this place."

"So, what is on the agenda today?" Marcus asked. "Twiddling our thumbs while Huck and Quinn type into their computers, only to tell us yet again that there is not sign of a leak?" Or maybe we should play the voicemail a couple more hundred times to see if anything new comes up?"

"We'll find the link." Olivia said, trying to convince herself more than anything. Then it hit her. "Hold him for a second." She handed Thomas over to Marcus before he could reject. She went over to the board where they had pictures and clues pinned up. "We've been going at this from the inside out. We can't find any leaks on our end, so why not try it from the outside?"

"We don't know who is on the outside trying to get in… That's like kind of the entire dilemma." Marcus said, uncomfortable with Thomas in his arms.

"We have August Alsino. We know for a fact that he knows. We don't know what exactly he knows, but we know that he wants to scare Jasmine and intimidate her. If we find out how he knows, then we can figure out how he found out. He is the button we need to push."

"We've been keeping tabs on him ever since that message was left on Jasmine's phone." Quinn offered. "He is clean. He's been doing nothing out of the ordinary. Over the last week, he has guest lectured at USC, been glued to the set of his new film, racked up a $500 tab at the La Boucherie. He's stayed within Los Angeles County. I would even argue that he doesn't have time to stalk Jasmine."

"A man like him doesn't do his own dirty work. Where there no strange visits? Any signs of contacting someone out of the usual?"

"He's made no drops, unusual meetings."

"A film set has hundreds of people going about. It is chaos. A perfect opportunity to make a swap." Olivia realized that Marcus was still holding Thomas, so she took her son back.

"Do you want me to go out to L.A.?" Quinn offered. "I can trail him, get some answers."

"No, I need you here. Right now, our priority is keeping Jasmine safe and finishing the book. I'll reach out to some P.I. contacts on the West Coast. See if they can get some answers. In the meantime, Huck could you pull up the security cameras on the street of OPA and Jasmine's apartment."

"Yeah, but why?"

"If there isn't a digital trail, then there has to be a human one. If we track cars or people who are reoccur in the footage, then we might be able to find our guy."

"That will take a lot of time."

"Then it is a good thing we have a lot of time." Olivia was trying to stay positive. "I'm going to drive up the street to make some calls. Huck, once you download all of the footage, split them into four parts. When I get back, I will start on my part."

/

"There will be no equity amongst genders until men know what it is like to have teeth gnawing into your nipple." Olivia winced at Thomas's newly acquired teeth latching onto her breast.

"I can't imagine." Fitz chuckled. They were on the couch, unwinding after a particularly long day. Fitz was nursing a scotch and rubbing Olivia's feet, while Olivia was giving Thomas his last meal before she put him down. "So how much longer will you need to use the safe house?"

"Worst case, is until the book is done. But hopefully, any second now, we will get a break. We will understand how Alsino found out, and then we can get back to normal."

"It will come. You'll figure it out." Fitz said.

"You keep saying that."

"Then why don't you believe me?" He raised his eyebrow.

"I don't know, I… Ignore me. I'm just in a bad mood."

"I am sitting here, giving you a foot massage, and you have the nerve to be in a bad mood?" Fitz sucked his teeth in jest.

"I'm sorry." Olivia chuckled. "And, for the record, this is wonderful. Thank you."

"It's my way of apologizing for the fact that you can't have your usual glass of wine after a tough day. And that our son has to rely on you for nutrition."

"Why don't we take a little vacation once this case gets wrapped up? You have enough vacation days. You know Alex loves the beach. Why don't we go somewhere further away? Florida or the Caribbean?"

"Olivia Carolyn Pope-Grant is asking for time away from work. Do you know how many wet dreams I have had about this moment?"

"I am serious. We haven't had time for ourselves, in… a long time. I mean, this little guy came before I could even catch my breath from the election. Now, this case is blowing up. I just want to take some time just to be… a _family_. To regroup."

"That sounds great… But not Florida. I don't trust their politicians."

"You don't trust them?" Olivia chuckled. "Imagine having to bury their dirty laundry."

"I can only—"

Olivia's phone interrupted Fitz's train of thought. She answered it after looking at the caller ID. "What?"

Fitz knew that she only answered the phone like that when it was her team calling. He waited patiently for any hints as to what was so important to call this late at night.

"That was two days before she got the message? Are you sure?" Olivia's brow crinkled in confusion. "I don't know. She hasn't said anything. Hang tight. I'll ask."

Fitz raised his eyebrows when she hung up. She held up a finger to tell him to hang on a minute. Dialing into her phone, she called the burner phone they left with Jasmine. She had an instant response. "Jasmine. Hi. What contact have you had with your father in the past week?" A pause. "I see. I'm on my way."

Olivia hung up. She looked down at Thomas, then at Fitz.

"I have to—"

"Go." Fitz extended his hands for Thomas. "I understand."

/

"I know how it feels." Olivia leaned against the door frame.

"How what feels?" Jasmine quickly wiped the tears on her cheeks. She straightened up on the bed, once she realized she wasn't alone.

"Realizing your father isn't what you thought."

"Did your father ever pimp you out?"

"No." Olivia admitted, taking a seat next to her client. "Well… In a way."

"Are you _sure_ that he is the leak."

"Not _sure_ , Jasmine. But he is the only outlier that knows about why you are here. In less than 24 hours of learning why you are in D.C., _seeking help from my firm_ , he takes your rapist out to dinner. Then 24 hours later, you receive a threatening message from Alsino. It may be just my gut, but I know that it is him."

"I can't… wrap my mind around it. My father couldn't have known, let alone encourage what he did to me." Jasmine shook her head. Olivia put her hand on her shoulder as a sign of support. "Tell me about your father."

"Excuse me?"

"How he betrayed you."

"My mother died when I was nine. He disappeared shortly after her death. He abandoned me." Olivia took a deep breath to steady herself. "He didn't reconnect until I was grown. He was keeping tabs on me the entire time. He chose the man I married and used that man to report back." Olivia didn't know why she was sharing so much. It all sounded so absurd now that the truth had been out for a couple of years.

"Is the bastard still around?"

"No. He passed a couple of years ago." Olivia admitted. "Believe me when I say that I know what you are going though. Maybe not exactly, but I know that breath-sucking feeling of betrayal. The denial. The pain. It is important to feel those feelings and to process them. But we have to look ahead."

"What do you mean?"

"How do you want us to proceed? We have options."

"What options?"

"We can arrange a meeting with you and your father. That is the first option. That way, you can get some answers… Some closure. We can nip their intimidation tactics in the bud and return to working at my office. Or we can keep you hidden. Don't let them know that we know. Publish the book, then come back up for air. There is no wrong choice."

"I don't want to keep hiding. I mean, your interior decorator did a great job with this place, but I feel like I'm going crazy with no service and this drug dealer burner phone."

"Okay. I will arrange a meeting." Olivia squeezed her hand. "Get some rest. We'll meet in the morning."

Jasmine stopped her, when she was halfway out of the door. "Do you have any regrets? With your father?"

"Maybe that I didn't see him for what he was sooner."

/

"His car pulled into the garage thirty seconds ago. You have about a minute." Olivia said. Jasmine was barely responsive, other than a flutter of her eyelids. She sat down next to her, on the couch in her office. "Remember that he cannot hurt you. If you need anything, I will be right outside, okay? Just give me a look."

"He's here." Quinn stuck her head in Olivia's office. Olivia patted Jasmine's shoulder, leaving the room and letting Joseph Jovardi meet with his daughter.

She didn't know what they were talking about. It wasn't her place. But she did know the gut wrenching pain she felt whenever her dad was exposed as Command. Like every childhood memory she had of him was false. So she kept her eyes trained on Jasmine's face, in case they needed to step in.

"How is it going?" Quinn asked.

"I can't tell."

"What is this supposed to do, anyways? Her dad tipped off the man that raped her, in hopes that he would silence her, and she wants to hear it from him in person? That doesn't change the fact that Alsino is still going to try to kill the book by any means."

"It's for her. Don't worry about Alsino. I'll take care of him." Without any warning, Olivia saw through the glass of her office, Jasmine lurching at her father. "Huck." She demanded as they rushed in to break it up.

In a simple tactical move, Huck separated them and restrained Jasmine in a way that did not hurt her.

"Let me show you out." Olivia crossed her arms across her chest and spoke in a tone that was anything but cordial.

"Whatever." He huffed, grabbing his coat. "Tank every damn thing I have built for you. I dare you."

Olivia led him down the hallway to the elevator.

"I know how to find my way out."

"Here is how this is going to go." Olivia said as they waited for the elevator. "You are going to pull your cell phone out and call your buddy over on the West Coast. You are going to tell him that Jasmine is killing the book. You are going to make him believe that the issue is handled."

"That is not going to happen." He stepped in the elevator once the doors opened.

Olivia took a step forward and leaned against the frame. "Usually in conversations of rape, men are begged to ask themselves, ' _What if it was my daughter_?' Only, you are so sick that doesn't even bother you. You are a disgusting man, although even the term _man_ is a little too kind, in my opinion. Which is why I will _truly delight_ in using my considerable talents and resources to _ruining you_ financially, professionally, privately – oh, you can kiss this so-called legacy down that you want to preserve so bad good bye. Although, I shouldn't even be wasting my breath on detailing how I am going to stand over the ashes of the sad thing you call a life. A quick google search will tell you what I am capable of. So when I say that it would behoove you to tell your twisted accomplice that the issue has been solved, I am not asking. Nor am I threatening. I'm just looking out for _your_ best interests."

Joseph stood there motionless.

"Go on. Call him." Olivia crossed her arms.

Finally, he pulled his cell phone out of his coat pocket and dialed August Alsino. "Hey, Al. I handled it. She isn't going to publish the book. I'll see you soon."

"Smart choice." Olivia stepped back out of the elevator. "But I would choose who you associate yourself with very carefully. We'll be watching. You wouldn't want to send us the wrong signal."

The doors closed on the elevator, and that was that. Olivia turned around to check on Jasmine.

"That. Was. Badass." Marcus said. He eavesdropped from behind the door to their office space.

"Hopefully it worked. I'm still going to keep P.I. eyes on them in L.A. We need to stay vigilant about security here. I don't trust him or Alsino for a second."

"I'd say that he isn't going to give you any trouble. He was 5 seconds from pissing his pants."


	27. Chapter 27

**THREE MONTHS LATER**

"My flight is in an hour." Olivia kissed the corner of Fitz's mouth.

"Hmm?" He mumbled.

"I need to get on the road."

"Okay."

Olivia stood up from where she was crouched by his side of the bed. She took a moment to admire his half-awake expression. "Remember, Rita is coming by to pick up Thomas, but you have to get Alex to school. You can still pick her up after school, right?"

"Mmkay." Fitz mumbled.

"Fitz, I need more than that. I forgot to pick her up the other day and she threatened to call CPS on me."

He opened his eyes wider. "Rita's getting Thomas. I've got Alex. I've got it."

"I put some cold medicine on the counter for Alex. She isn't getting any better. Make sure she has some cough drops and tissues in her backpack."

"Got it." Fitz confirmed, giving Olivia the confirmation to go call a cab to the airport. "Wait." He said as she was halfway out of the door.

"What?"

"Come here."

Olivia returned to his side, sitting next to him. He sleepily secured his hand around the nape of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss. She tasted like mouthwash and fresh lipstick. "So now you are awake?" She smirked.

"Good luck today." He knew what an important day this was for her.

"Thank you." Olivia pulled away. "Alex's lunch is packed in the fridge."

"I love you." He smiled, lazily.

"I love you too."

/

 **NEW YORK, HOURS LATER**

"Shit." Olivia mumbled to herself as she quickly pulled her dinging phone out of her purse and silenced it. The last thing she wanted was for Jasmine's huge interview to be interrupted by her cell phone ringing. She was standing in the wings of the set of _Good Day U.S.A._ Jasmine was sitting across from Kimberly Mitchell, immaculately styled by their stylists. Olivia could tell that even though Jasmine had spent over a decade out of public eye, she was still trained to be comfortable in front of the camera. She was naturally comfortable, letting a production assistant adjust her mic to get the best sound while remaining hidden.

"We are live in five, four, three…" The camerawoman counted the rest silently with her fingers hoisted in the air, pointing at them once the cameras started rolling.

"Welcome back to Good Day U.S.A. I'm Kimberly Mitchell here with a special guest, Jasmine Jovardi. She is a fixture of American cinematic history, earning a lengthy list of credits to her acting resume before most of us had finished high school algebra. After a couple of years dodging the public eye, she is with us in an exclusive interview. Only here on _Good Day U.S.A._ will she tell us why she is returning to the spotlight. Now, Jasmine…"

Kimberly Mitchell began her interview with all of her prepped cues. Olivia knew that news of this scale was bigger than a live morning talk show. It belonged in a prime time pre-recorded special like _60 Minutes_. But they had to lay low, given the threats made to Jasmine. Ten years ago, breaking news like this at 9:30am on a Tuesday morning show watched almost exclusively by stay at home moms, doctor office waiting rooms, and Florida retirees would have been sabotage. Yet, Olivia knew that with social media, clips of this would be well circulated, and it would consume at least four of the ten trending topics on Twitter. Noah Baker's investigative piece into why the NYTimes refused to look into this story in the first place – a tip Olivia gave him to uphold her end of the bargain – revealed a messy web of newspapers being influenced by Hollywood. After he uploaded his article once the interview ended, this scandal would be the biggest story of the year.

"This morning you published an online document. It is unconventional, to say the least. In fact, it is something I have never seen before. Your book – is book the right word? It is completely digital. Readers pay $10 and gain access to an encoded website that is basically an eBook, am I correct?"

"Yes, that is correct." Jasmine smiled pleasantly.

"And what is in this book, I must say, is gut wrenching. It is basically a memoir about… Well, I will let you explain it."

"To put it simply, it is my story. It is what nobody else knows about my journey. It is what the tabloids never told. What experiences shaped me, and how that influenced my decisions as a young girl growing up in Hollywood."

"I would say that the word _experiences_ is a little too kind of a word. I admit, that I only planned on reading excerpts this morning to prepare for the interview, but I couldn't put it down. You bust so many crucial conversations that need to be had wide open. I mean, America only knows you as a child star. This is… This is so much more. We had no idea."

"That is how it goes sometimes." Jasmine said with a hint of sadness. "You never know what someone is going through behind closed doors."

"Now, I know that many of our viewers have not had the privilege to read it yet. They will, once they see this, but I want you to give an abstract, in your words, of what the book is about. Don't be vague. This is a story that needs to be heard."

"Ever since I could remember, I wanted to be an actress. I remember dressing up in my mothers' pearls, reenacting scenes from old movies, pretending I was Greta Garbo or Katharine Hepburn. I was fortunate to be born into a life that surrounded me with that rich cinematic history. I mean, how many four-year-old girls can ask their parents to be an actress, and then get casted in a Steven Spielberg movie on the spot. Yet, when I came of age – and I use that term loosely, because it all started when I was fourteen – I was raped. I wish that I could word it in a nicer way, but it has taken a lot of time and healing to be able to call it what it was."

"I want to interject here to notify viewers that this conversation is about to get graphic." Kimberly said, addressing the camera. "Please continue."

"I was raped by movie director August Alsino. He was a close family friend, I mean, I can't recall a Thanksgivings when he wasn't at our dinner table or a Fourth of July when he wasn't at our barbeque. I was too young to understand what was happening, but he… touched me in ways that I didn't even realize were wrong."

"What did you do?"

"I cried. But he told me that it was all normal. This was what happened – according to him – when you become a woman. In his eyes, I was a woman. At fourteen."

"Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell your parents?" Kimberly's questions weren't accusatory, but inquisitive.

"He told me not to. I don't know why I believed him. I guess I was ashamed. I mean, I had never kissed a boy outside of acting. I thought if I came forward, I would have to admit to my parents that I had let someone touch me down there. I was embarrassed."

"But it continued."

"I had no choice. I mean, he…" Jasmine took a deep breath, collecting herself. "It seems silly looking back, but… What did you want to be when you were fourteen?"

"Me?" Kimberly raised an eyebrow. "I wanted to be the first principal Black ballerina in the American Ballet Company."

"Imagine being so close to that. Imagine being at the cusp of it. And you can achieve that as long as you keep your mouth closed. I mean, what is fifteen minutes of pain and humiliation to the life you want to lead?"

Olivia couldn't help but smirk and pat Marcus's arm. It was all going perfectly. She hated to delight her client baring her painful truth on national television, but this was golden. This was Whitney Houston saying 'Crack is whack.' This was Tom Cruise jumping on a couch type of memorable. Jasmine was logical and emotional, hitting all of the right notes. Kimberly was eating it up. The studio audience was eating it up. Olivia imagined that the rest of America was eating it up.

"But then things got worse. Explain that."

"I suppose that August spread the word to his friends. They started lining up. I guess that they saw that I was broken and took a number to get their piece of me."

"These aren't just normal _friends_." Kimberly stopped her. "These are the men that run Hollywood. The accusations you make in this book—"

"They aren't accusations."

 _Yes_. Olivia thought to herself. She wasn't bending to dog whistle phrasing that could weaken her story.

"My apologies." Kimberly blushed. "The men featured aren't your average Joe. The names you list have dominated box office films as well as award shows. They are the gatekeepers to American pop culture."

"Yes." Jasmine nodded. "And somehow, it was all normal to me. They weren't _Academy Award Winning This_ or _Emmy Winning That_. They were men that I grew up around. So, I thought it was normal. I mean, at that point I didn't know what normal was… But I adjusted my view of normal to them."

"How so?"

"In a way, I thought that by doing what they said, I was growing up. I was a serious actress – more than a privileged child star – if I did what they said. I was so conditionally trained, by them, to think that this was what happened to anyone who wanted to get ahead in the entertainment business."

"We can't go into the specifics on network television, but the details are harrowing. I can't imagine my pre-teen daughter reading it, let alone living it."

"I guess it explains the decisions I made when I was young."

"To go into that… Were the drugs, the alcohol, the partying… an escape?"

"I'm sure that some psychologist or therapist has the answer to that." Jasmine chuckled almost masochistically. "I was too deep in to think about any of it. I wanted to be grown. I wanted to be a serious actress. The people around me who were ' _serious_ ' in my perspective were doing that stuff. So, I joined in. It wasn't even a choice, really. It was just _there_ for me."

"You were getting into 21+ clubs at fourteen, fifteen years old. Was it that easy?"

"I was a celebrity." Jasmine said. "As long as I had someone of age to vouch to the bouncer that I was good… So I was always good."

"I don't want to sugar coat anything here, but you were doing hard drugs at an alarmingly young age."

"I always thought of myself as older than I was. Maybe I should have had friends my age, but I wanted to be older… To be taken seriously."

"At what point did you realize that you needed an intervention?"

"When the judge sentenced me." Jasmine wiped now visible tears from her cheek. Kimberly offered her a tissue. "If you can believe it, I was so fuck—I'm sorry—disillusioned that it took the judge sentencing me to rehab for me to realize that my version of normal, wasn't… _normal_."

"It must've been a real wake up call."

"I needed it." Jasmine said truthfully. "I'm sure that I would have died or overdosed if I didn't have some type of intervention. I resisted it at first. I guess I was spoiled enough to think that nobody understood me – that America just didn't get it. But it was tough love. And it required me to take a step back and reevaluate my life."

"So why didn't you go forward then? With this story?"

"Once I got out of rehab, I wanted to put it all behind me. To rehash the past would mean to call more attention to myself. I wasn't sure if I could take it, and I didn't want to find out. Plus, I didn't see what happened – what _they_ did to me – to be worth it. I mean, after a while, it all just blended into the haze that was my childhood."

"So why now? Why, after over a decade later, you choose to come forward?"

"Healing is a hell of a thing. I guess it just felt right. I mean, you try to push it far back and make excuses, but eventually it eats at you. Every winter it seems like one of them gets an award and has the entire industry on their feet applauding a man that violated you. You get tired of swallowing the bile that rises up in your throat."

"Liv…" Marcus tapped Olivia's shoulder.

"Shh." Olivia whispered harshly. She didn't want any of the very serious production assistants with their clipboards and headsets to usher them away. They already weren't supposed on the closed set, but Jasmine insisted that they be there if she was going to do the interview.

He held his phone screen up so that it was inches from her face. She wanted to slap it out of his hand, but her eyes focused on the words on the screen

 _BREAKING NEWS: REPORTS OF AN ACTIVE SHOOTER AT JAMES MADISON HOSPITAL_

Olivia squinted and read it again. Again and again. She was frozen.

"Go." Marcus urged, snapping her out of her trance. She nodded, backing away from the set and walking down the hallway. She checked her phone. It was an automated emergency text reminder from the hospital that Fitz must have signed her up for. It was vague and gave her no information.

She called Fitz's cell phone. It rang for five rings. Then voicemail. She tried his office phone. No response. As much as she prided herself on staying calm in emergencies, a fresh wave of anxiety bubbled up through her body. She frantically scrolled the news apps on her phone. It was true. Reports of shots at James Madison hospital were just now hitting news wires. She called Fitz's cell phone. No response. Again. No response.

Her crisis mode kicked in. She didn't know how her legs carried herself to where Marcus was standing, but she tapped his shoulder.

"I have to go."

The elevator down from the Manhattan skyscraper was the worst. She kept calling, but the bad service wasn't helping. She stepped out onto the street and raised her hand for a cab. Still no response.

"Take me to JFK."

In the cab, she scheduled the quickest flight to D.C. As if a stroke of luck, she made it just in time to the airport to walk straight onto a flight to Reagan. If she thought that the elevator was bad, she couldn't anticipate the time airborne. She kept trying Fitz's phone until the stewardess made her turn her phone off. The second the plane got back into cell phone signal, she was trying again. Same result. She scrolled back through her news feed, but it only got worse. The gun shots were on the obstetrics wing. Five dead. Sixteen wounded. A suspect was in custody, wounded. All non-life threatening hospital patients were evacuated to George Washington University's hospital.

Olivia was in tunnel vision. She barely remembered calling an Uber to the hospital. It really hit her when she saw the army of military grade police vehicles and news vans outside of the hospital.

"I'm sorry. This is the closest I can get." Her driver said as a police officer directed him on an alternate route away from the hospital.

"I can get out here. Thanks." She said curtly, hopping out of the car.

"This is a crime scene, ma'am, it is closed to the public." A police officer immediately stopped her, raising his hands cautiously.

"My husband is a doctor here. I need to get in."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you by."

"Please, he isn't answering his phone." Olivia was on the verge of tears. In the back of her mind, she probably should have approached this in a better way. She should have gotten answers before rushing on a plane and showing up delusional. The officer must have seen the panic in her eyes, as he took mercy on her.

"Go over to that tent and ask for Sargent Waters. He can answer any questions."

"Thank you." Olivia followed his pointed finger to a tent that appeared to be a command center. She analyzed the bustling space, identifying one man. "Are you Sargent Waters?" She asked the man who seemed to be in control.

"Yes."

"My husband is a doctor here. Is there a way that you can get in touch with him?"

"This is not a call center." He said gruffly.

"He isn't answering his phone." Olivia was on the verge of tears.

"What is the name?" He said, as if what she said didn't make a difference, he just wanted her gone.

"Fitzgerald Grant."

The man whispered something to the deputy next to him, who ran over to another man. It seemed like an eternity before he returned. "Ma'am, what is your relation to Dr. Grant?"

"I'm his wife." Olivia almost choked. Why were they acting so strange? Why couldn't they tell her that he was okay?

"Can I see some ID?" Olivia handed him her driver's license so fast, it almost went flying from her fingertips. "I need you to take a seat."

"What happened?"

"Ma'am…" He seemed uneasy, shifting his weight back and forth.

"Tell me." She said in a grave voice.

"He is alive, but he was shot. He is being prepped for surgery."

"Surgery?" Olivia felt like a bullet had passed through her. "What do you mean? Is he okay?"

"That is all that we know. You can wait here until we get more information."

"No." Olivia refused. "I need to see him."

"I'm sorry, but you can't. It is a crime scene. We aren't letting anybody in."

Olivia couldn't accept that. She was beyond being told to wait or sit to the side. "I will go in. I don't care if your boss tells you that you can't let me in, you can't stop me."

"I am my own boss, ma'am."

"Then let me in."

"I can't."

"You can, and you will."

"Ma'am—"

Olivia walked straight past him. She didn't wait for whatever line he was prepped to say. She knew the hospital well enough that she knew where he was if he was being prepped for surgery. She made it past the revolving doors before a police officer grabbed her arm.

"Ma'am, _stop_ —"

"I have to see my husband." Olivia jerked back, but another hand grabbed her. "I _need_ to see Fitz."

"Get her back past the perimeter." The Sargent barked.

"Wait…" A doctor said. He was in a white lab coat, but there were noticeable blood stains on the collar and sleeve of his shirt. "Olivia, right?"

"Yes." Olivia jerked her arm away from the officer that grabbed her. The officer solidified his grasp on her arm, holding her so that she couldn't escape.

"She's good." The doctor said, raising his hands in the air as if his surrender would account for Olivia's.

"We aren't authorized to let civilians in yet." The Sargent countered.

"She isn't a civilian." The doctor replied sharply. Olivia watched, helplessly. She wanted to resist against the policeman holding her firmly by her forearms, but her common sense told her not to. She relaxed, and the officer reluctantly let go, hovering within reach as if she would try to make a run for it. The mysterious doctor went over to the Sargent and spoke in a low voice that she couldn't make out. The Sargent sighed a heavy sigh and nodded. He waved his hand in an order to have the officer that was practically breathing down Olivia's neck to back off.

"Come with me." The doctor said.

Olivia had no choice but to obey. She followed him to the elevator. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." He said somberly, offering his hand. "Dr. Jenkins."

"We've met before." Olivia remembered him from the annual fundraiser gala. She remembered him specifically, because Fitz joked about how he was one of the few bachelor doctors, resulting in hordes of nurses thirsting over his fresh-out-of-med-school baby face.

"I didn't think you would remember." He pressed the 5th button on the elevator. Olivia knew what that meant. ICU.

"Can I see him?"

"No. He is going into surgery. But you can stay in the waiting room."

"Thank you." Olivia never meant those words more than in that moment.

"No need for that."

"You have blood on your shirt."

"Oh." He stared down at the splatters of blood on his scrubs like it was the first time he was seeing them. Once the metal doors to the elevator opened, he led her to the waiting room, which was empty. "I will notify his surgeons that you are here. They will update you when they can. Don't ask questions. Everyone is doing their best here, so you shouldn't get in the way. They will tell you what they can, when they can."

"Thank you."

"No need for that." He repeated. "Fitz is a hero."

"What?" Olivia raised her eyebrows. He began to walk away, but she grabbed his coat sleeve. "What do you mean?"

"I was doing a routine check up on a patient. I heard the gun shots and froze. The next thing I know is Dr. Grant running by the room, locking it with his key card. We pushed ourselves against the wall and heard someone trying the handle. Then more silence. Then more gun shots."

Olivia couldn't quite read the look in his eyes. He was gone before she could ask for more, retreating into the elevator. Olivia looked at the empty waiting room. She assumed that they must have evacuated any guests. A tidal wave of guilt hit her. How could she be alone in the waiting room, when so many others were probably outside, wondering the fate of their loved ones – whether it was a product of the shooting or not.

Then her fixer mode kicked in. She scrolled through her phone, now, as people were beginning to check in on her. Abbey offered to get Thomas from the sitter and pick up Alex from school. She made sure that Alex's elementary school knew that Abbey was picking her up. She called Karen and Mellie, letting them know what she knew. Karen was probably in class, but she left a message. Jerry was harder to reach. He only had WiFi in Thailand and no cell phone service, but she sent him an email. It was the middle of the night in his time zone, so he wouldn't receive it until he woke up the next morning. Then she called her team, explaining why she left the set. She told Quinn to send her hourly updates on the Jovardi case, like how the press was receiving it. Her news feed was an even mix of Jasmine's interview and the shooting.

Olivia felt foolish, refreshing her news feed in the waiting room, but it was the only news she was getting. She heeded the young doctor's advice not to ask questions. When there was news regarding Fitz, someone would tell her. But for now, she had to rely on the AP news wire. The death toll was rising before her eyes. Seven confirmed dead. Fourteen wounded. At one point, some doctors rolled an undistinguishable body by under a white cloth. Was that Fitz? Where did he fall amongst those numbers? Was he amongst the seven or fourteen?

Finally, a nurse approached her. He didn't even have to ask who she was, as she was the only person in the waiting room. He wasn't ordered to tell her anything, but he kept noticing her alone in the waiting room, and he took pity. He told her that Fitz was shot four times. Two bullets lodged in his ribs and the two others struck his legs. He was in surgery as they spoke. She asked for more details, but he didn't have any. The surgery could take from two hours to ten, depending on how successful their efforts to remove the bullets, stop the bleeding, and asses any damages to his organs. Then he would rest. Then she could see him.

She thanked him as he retreated down the hall. For some reason, his words weren't that comforting. It only made things worse. She couldn't relax until she saw him. She went back to manning her phone. Karen answered as soon as she got out of class and booked a train to be there in a couple of hours. Mellie was somewhere outside, unable to get in. Apparently, _ex-wife_ carried a lot less weight than _wife_. Jerry was still unreachable, but it was still the middle of the night in Thailand.

With every hour that passed, Olivia's fears grew. If it was successful, then why was it hour four and nobody contacted her? She kept refreshing the news feed. The death toll was at seven. Fourteen were wounded. She wondered how much longer the numbers would tip until someone would find her in the waiting room and tell her he didn't make it. She refreshed her feed again. Still the same.

"Mrs. Grant?" A doctor asked. She was standing right in front of her and Olivia didn't even notice.

"Yes." She stood up.

"Please, have a seat." The doctor said.

"I'm fine standing."

"Alright… My name is Dr. Watson, and I specialize in emergency—."

"Is he alive?" Olivia blurted. "I'm sorry, doctor."

"No need to apologize, I'm sure that you are experiencing a lot of emotions and fears. Which is why I am happy to give you some good news."

"Good news?"

"Dr. Grant's surgery was a success. We removed the bullets, stopped the bleeding, and sealed the damage… How much do you know already?"

"Just that he was shot… Four times."

"He suffered from two bullets to his right calf. He suffered severe damage to the muscle tissue and a minor fracture, but it is nothing that can't be corrected with a couple of months of physical therapy. One bullet grazed his right torso, piercing his skin only. The fourth bullet was our main concern. It collided directly with his tenth rib on the right. The rib stopped the bullet for the most part, but fractures of the bone lodged into his liver. He suffered terrible bleeding. But we were able to control that bleeding. The damage, however, is undeniable. It is damage that only time will heal. He will have to stay here for at least three more weeks."

"Can I see him?"

"Right now, he is on complete surveillance until he wakes up. We will notify you when that happens."

Olivia nodded, taking in the information. She slid down into her seat, even though her knees were trying to stay strong. "Three weeks? At least?"

"That is the best-case scenario. Every person is different, so it all depends on his progress. Even once he is able to go home, he will require a lot of care." The doctor shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I am sure that the billing department will handle the details, but it was a unanimous decision from the board. The hospital has offered to foot the bill for his treatment."

"That is very kind, but we have the finances—"

"I don't think it's a matter of charity." The doctor said. "I think it is a matter of thanking your husband."

"When can I see him?"

"As soon as he wakes up. I will make sure that a doctor notifies you immediately." Dr. Watson handed her a plastic bag. "These were his possessions during the attack."

"Thank you." Olivia opened the bag after the doctor left her. It was like someone took a vacuum to her throat and sucked all of the air out of her lungs. She pulled out his clothes. The blood had dried, and there was very little of his lab coat that was still white. Her fingers trembled as they found the bullet holes. They were _actually there_. Unmistakable proof of the fact that he was shot. She sifted through the rest of the contents to find his watch, cell phone, and name badge. The blood soaked through the soles of his shoes. Olivia tightly tied the bag and dropped it under her seat, unable to even look at it.

After what seemed like an eternity, a doctor told her that he was awake. He led her down the hallway to his room, warning her of his condition. She was told he was awake, but he would be very groggy and limited. He wouldn't be able to talk much, due to the pressure on his lungs. When she saw him, fresh tears sprung to her eyes. His eyes weren't even open. Did she hear them correctly that he was awake? The EKG monitor was the only thing that told her he was even alive. She pulled a chair to the side of his bed. Even the scraping of the chair across the floor seemed cacophonous against the buzz of machines.

She put her hand on his, but then quickly pulled it back as if it was a hot stove. She didn't want to wake him, but she also needed some type of contact. She needed something to know that he was still with her, and the machine plugged into the wall was not some cruel deception. She hated the feeling of helplessness that was shrouding her. She didn't realize that she was crying silently, sobbing with no control, until his familiar deep voice rasped out.

"Don't cry."

"Fitz." Olivia choked out. She put her hand over her mouth as if it could stop her tears. She wanted to touch him, but she didn't know what hurt – how much pain he was in.

"Hi." He rasped.

"Hi." Was all that she could get out.

"I'm serious." He said. His voice was barely a whisper, but she understood every word. "Stop crying."

"Don't talk. The doctors told me not to let you talk, so… Don't."

He nodded.

"You almost died."

He nodded again.

"Don't do that again."

"Okay." He said, his voice barely a croak. "Water."

"Of course." Olivia reached for the pitcher on the table and poured him a glass. She carefully fed it to him, wiping his mouth. She gently smoothed his hair. "Are you in pain?"

"No."

"Be honest." Olivia pushed. "And don't speak, just nod. Are you in pain?"

He shook his head.

Olivia didn't believe him. "You were shot four times."

"Drugs." He winked.

"Don't joke about these things." Olivia wanted to have so many conversations with him, but she knew that her time was limited, and he could only say so much. "The doctors here need to examine you again, run some tests. I will be in the waiting room if you need me, okay? I am trying to get Karen and Jerry here as soon as possible. I have to go, now, but I love you, okay?"

Fitz nodded.

Olivia squeezed his hand affirmingly. She left his room before her own selfishness could make her stay longer.

/

For the next few hours before she could visit him again, she was actually productive. Seeing him alive – even if just barely – took the cinder block off of her chest and allowed her to breath again. She checked in Abbey and followed the reception to Jasmine's interview in the media. She was in the middle of delegating responsibilities to her team in her absence when a doctor found her. He gave her an update on the positive test results and told her that she could see him again. Only this time, some of the heavy sedatives had worn off, and Fitz could be more awake.

"The doctors say that I am done with their tests." Fitz said as she entered his room. His bed was propped up so that he was not laying flat on his back like before.

"How are you feeling?" Olivia took a seat at his side.

"Like I picked the luckiest place in the country to get shot."

"That isn't funny."

"Oh, come on. Humor can be fun. Try it."

Olivia ran her thumb along the back of his hand. "I never want you to hear you complain about how dangerous my job is again."

Fitz tried to laugh, but his ribs shot daggers of pain throughout the rest of him. "Umph."

"Relax, relax." Olivia hated to see him in pain. "Maybe laughter isn't the best thing right now."

"For the record, that was pretty funny… Where are the kids?"

"Safe." Olivia wiped a tear from her cheek. "Abbey is watching them."

"Did the doctors fill you in?"

Olivia nodded. "Don't ever do this again."

"Get shot? I don't plan on it."

"I'm serious. It isn't funny." Olivia looked at the tubes coming out of his arm. "I haven't been able to get in contact with Jerry, but when he wakes up, he will be bombarded with emails and updates. Karen should be here shortly. She caught a train as soon as she got out of class, but I don't know if she will be able to get in. Mellie is still waiting past the police barricade. I am not even supposed to be here, but the doctors were kind enough to let me see you for a few moments."

"Why aren't they letting people in?"

"Because it is still a crime scene." Olivia brushed her thumb against his cheek. "I'm not even supposed to be here."

"How come you are?"

"I can explain that later." Olivia said. She just sat there, silently, thanking God that he was okay. "If I leaned in to kiss you, would you… Would it hurt?"

"It would probably help more than hurt." Fitz smirked. "I'm a doctor, I know what heals a patient."

Olivia leaned forward again, brushing her lips against his. She was scared to even touch him, let alone press her trembling lips to his, but he insisted, lifting his hand that wasn't weighed down by an IV to her cheek. Olivia pulled back when she realized that tears were falling from her cheeks to his. She pulled a tissue form the night stand and wiped his cheek.

"Do you remember how we…" Fitz took a struggled breath, trying to find the ability to speak. "Used to take a minute?"

"Of course."

"Can we?"

"You can have anything you want."

"Another kiss, then?"

"Easy. I don't want to upset your heartbeat." Olivia looked at his EKG monitor. "But we can have that minute."

A minute turned into an hour of just sitting there. It was enough for Olivia just to hold his hand and remind herself that he was okay. He was alive. He didn't die.

/

Once the hospital started to allow verifiable family and friends into the hospital, the waiting room became busy with people and doctors circulating with news. Olivia almost missed the quiet, but it was nice to not be alone, even if she was surrounded by strangers.

"I was allowed to see him briefly. He's going to live, but it will take some time before he is back to normal." She said into her phone.

"Shit, Liv, I'm sorry." Marcus said.

"Distract me with good news."

"This was the highest watched Good Day U.S.A. airing in the history of their broadcasting. The online clip of her interview is quickly approaching 2 million views."

"How is Jasmine doing?"

"She's a little overwhelmed. I mean, it has been 12 years since she's had this much attention on her. But she is handling it like a champ."

"Send me the schedule for next week's press along with any incoming requests."

"The list is already a mile long."

"Great." Olivia paused for a moment. "I will try to make it to the office first thing next week—"

"Liv, don't worry about it. Take the time off to be with your family. We've got this."

"I know, but—"

"You trained us well. Quinn will keep you updated."

"Thank you." Olivia hung up.

"Liv!" Karen waved Olivia down when she saw her in the waiting room. Mellie was at her side. Karen hugged her tightly. "Is he awake?"

"He might be. I left him to rest about an hour ago."

"How bad is it?"

"It's, uh… It's bad." Olivia nodded. "But he's stable. And cracking jokes."

"Typical." Karen chuckled. "How are you holding up?"

"Me? I'm fine." Olivia nodded.

"Okay." Karen said, although she didn't believe her. "If you need anything… Someone to watch the kids, run errands, let me know."

"Thank you." Olivia patted her hand. "You two can go see him. Room 2174."

"I talked to Jerry on the Uber here. He can't get time off from his program until next week, but he promised to facetime."

A camera flash went off, and they realized it was someone snapping a picture of them. The cameraman quickly turned and powerwalked out of the waiting room.

"I am going to go talk to hospital security." Olivia put her hand on Karen's arm, as Karen was disturbed by the flash. "You two go visit him. He will be happy to see you."

"Thank you." Mellie spoke up. Olivia completely forgot about what she must have been going through. They might have been divorced for over a decade, but he was still the father of her children. They still cared for each other, even if it was in a different way.

"The press knows that dad was shot." Karen told Olivia, before making it down the hallway. There was a protective fear in her eyes for her father. "His name was trending on Twitter for a short time."

"I'll take care of it." Olivia said. "Consider it handled."

/

"I'll go pick up Alex and Thomas." Karen said. "I'm sure that Alex will be happy to sleep in her own bed, and I would love to get some shut eye as well."

"Thank you." Olivia tossed Fitz's car keys to her. She had unsuccessfully tried to wash the blood off of his key fob in the hospital bathroom. She hoped that Karen wouldn't notice. "Abbey will help you with the car seat. Thomas needs to be fed before he is put down, so I will send you directions. Call me if you have any questions, and I mean _any_."

"Will do." Karen nodded. "Good night, Dad."

Once she left, Fitz struggled to move in his bed. He winced at the pain of his chest. "What are you doing?"

"Making room." Fitz grunted.

"Stop." Olivia put her hands on his shoulders. "You can't move like that, you might rip the stitches… Or cause more bleeding or something."

"I want you to get in bed with me."

"What?" Olivia laughed. "These drugs must be strong, because there is no way in hell that I am going to cuddle with you hours after you had bullets as in _plural_ removed from your rib cage."

"We have ten minutes left until a nurse will notify you that you have to leave because visiting hours are over. I will be making a strong case for you to be given special privileges to spend the night, and I imagine that you getting in this bed with me is a promising start."

Olivia popped the railing down and sat on the edge of the bed. "This is as close as I'm getting."

"I'll take it." He rested his hand on her hip. "I'm glad that I didn't die today."

"Me too." Olivia said. After a moment of silence, "Do you remember what happened?"

"When I heard the first gun shots, I was visiting with this one mother. Her case was very similar to how I met you."

"Should I be worried?" Olivia joked, smoothing the fabric of his hospital gown across his chest, careful not to go near the wound.

"She was nine months pregnant and got hit by a car running a red light. Her baby is healthy, and she will be too, once her wounds heal." Fitz absentmindedly ran his fingers along her waist. "I was making sure that there wasn't any PTSD paired with post-partem – I remember how you… were."

"How difficult I was?"

"Something like that… But that is the last thing I remember." Fitz's brow crinkled as he tried to push his brain to dig up something that just wasn't there.

"You don't have to talk about this."

"The first thing that came to my mind was you." He raised his eyes to hers.

"Fitz–"

"Post-surgery, before I could open my eyes. I felt it. I knew something was wrong. The first thing I thought about was you. How much of a failure I was if I died." Fitz said. "I thought about you raising our kids, going on without me. I thought about you burying your second husband and having to start over again."

"Stop."

"The point is… I'm glad I didn't die."

"I could never start over again without you." Olivia held his cheek in her hand. "You are not a failure. I never want to hear you say that again."

"I would want you to move on."

"I wouldn't be able to."

"You did it before… You are stronger than you think."

"That was different. I didn't…" She trailed off. She wanted to say that she didn't love Jake the way she loves him – that she didn't even know that someone could love like she did until met Fitz. But none of that was important right now. "You are my forever, so when that ends, so will I."

Olivia kissed his forehead, letting her lips linger against his skin. She stood up when she heard the door open. It was a nurse notifying Olivia that visiting hours were over and she had to move to the waiting room or go home. Fitz notified her that Olivia would be spending the night. The nurse then responded that it was not her call to make. Olivia enjoyed watching Fitz brazenly and smugly abuse his power by telling her the correct channels to go through to get the approval, including the names of her superiors. He even offered to call them personally. She finally relented, immediately bringing a cot next to his bed.

"That was very rude." Olivia smirked, smoothing his hair out. "I hope you don't treat your employees like that every day."

"I'll apologize in the morning." Fitz winked. "Blame it on the drugs."

"I wish I had that excuse for the cops that I berated for not letting me in." Olivia began to recline his bed so that he was laying down.

"How did you get in before everybody else?" Fitz said through a tense jaw as he fought the pain in his rib cage.

"The funniest thing…" Olivia laid on her side on the cot, propping her head on her elbow. "Dr. Jenkins vouched for me. He said you saved his life."

"Hmm." Fit mumbled. He had no recollection. Olivia reached forward to intertwine her fingers in his good hand.

"Just focus on resting."

/

The next morning, Olivia woke up before Fitz. She was embarrassed to wake up to a nurse refreshing his I.V. She immediately felt guilty for spending the night. She was sure that Alex was confused, and Thomas was crying his head off the entire night. She left Fitz a note, telling him that she would be back after swinging by the house. She wasn't in a hurry to let Alex see him in the hospital bed like that, but she knew that she couldn't send her to school with the media frenzy around the shooting.

When she pulled into their carport, she could already hear Thomas wailing. Karen was rocking him, trying to get him to drink from his bottle. "Liv, I'm so sorry, I am trying."

"Shhh. Shhh. It is fine." Olivia readily accepted him into her arms and opened her blouse enough to rest him against her skin. It took a couple of minutes for him to calm down, but he finally did, hungrily turning to her breast for breakfast.

"That is _way_ harder than it looks." Karen said.

"I am sorry for leaving you with him overnight. I should have known that he was going to be difficult." Olivia apologized, offering her breast for Thomas to suck on.

"You don't have to apologize to me." Karen said. "I'm happy to help."

"How was Alex? Did she have trouble falling asleep?"

"She has no idea what is going on. She was more excited that we were having a 'sleep over.' I may have let her stay up later than she was supposed to."

"I'm going to freshen up, then I will get her up. Your father probably won't be awake for a couple hours, and it looks like you should get some rest too. Thank you for watching them overnight."

"If you need anything, let me know."

Olivia woke up a cranky and tired Alex who was nonetheless excited to see her. Olivia couldn't bring herself to tell Alex what happened as she got her ready for the day. It was all too scary for a six year old to hear, but she had to have the conversation. Olivia felt stuck in between protecting her or trusting her to be mature enough.

"Alex, I need to tell you something, okay?" She said as she plaited her hair in a French braid. She tied the hair band around the end.

"Okay." Alex looked up at her. Olivia sighed, pulling Alex into her lap.

"Something really bad happened to Daddy. He is going to have to stay at the hospital for a while."

"But Daddy works at the hospital."

"I know, but this is different. He was hurt."

"Who hurt him?" It was starting to set in to Alex that something was actually wrong.

"A very bad person. But the important thing is that he is going to be okay. He just has to stay at the hospital so that the other doctors can make him healthy again." Tears welled in Alex's eyes, and Olivia had to make an effort to hold it together herself. She kissed Alex's hair and wrapped her arms around her. "I know that it is scary, but everything is going to be okay. We are going to go to visit him today, instead of school."

Alex wiped a tear from her cheek. Olivia watched her reaction closely. She was such a spitting image of herself. She had Jake's brow, but the softness of her eyes and the serious look she always had was 99% Olivia. "Okay. Let's go see him." She slid off Olivia's lap and looked back at her as if to say, ' _come on, what are you waiting for_?'

"Go pick out what you want to wear. We can go as soon as you are ready."

/

"Being in a monogamous relationship with a woman is natural birth control, but goddamn. Last night was all the birth control a girl needs." Karen chuckled.

"Coffee." Olivia handed her a cup, balancing Thomas in her arms. "It helps."

"How are you? Really?" Karen asked.

"I'm fine."

"Liv…"

"You don't have to worry about me." Olivia sighed, taking a sip of her coffee. "I'm more worried about the press around this. Healing is hard enough, but with the whole nation watching… I've seen it happen enough to know that it makes it worse."

"He really doesn't remember a thing, does he?"

Olivia shook her head. "I can't tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing."

"I still have finals coming up, and after the setback of my first semester – I swear to god – I am not postponing my graduation one more semester. I'm going to try and get some study hours in. I'll be in the chapel room. It seems to be the quietest place."

Olivia watched the news coverage for a couple more minutes. They were showing the picture of the shooter. He was old, with greasy, disheveled white hair. His papery white skin bore the cracks and wrinkles of many years. They were reporting that he was a Vietnam veteran. That apparently this was not his first psychotic break. She tuned in to the shameless reporting of his life, trying to make sense of such a senseless act of violence. Back in the 90s, he was arrested for waving a knife in a department store, but charges weren't pressed. Pundits were weighing in on the potential schizophrenia or bipolar diagnosis. They said that he was being treated in the hospital, which was even more frightening. Olivia was sure that he was under the supervision of many law enforcement agents, but the fact that the person who did this to Fitz was still in the same building made her blood chill. She shook that feeling away before returning to Fitz's room. She smiled at the sight of Alex playing cards with Fitz.

"Do you have any aces?" Fitz asked.

"Go fish." Alex smirked. "Do you have any sevens?"

"Go fish." Fitz said, noticing the grin growing on her face when she saw her new card. "Fours?"

"Nope." Alex got a huge grin on her face. "Hand over your ace."

"Oh, you wound me." Fitz feigned pain as he handed over his ace. She paired it with her newly acquired card and set it on his legs where they were displaying their winnings.

"Who is winning?" Olivia asked.

"Me." They both said in unison.

"I need to talk to you about something when you finish getting your butt kicked by a six year old." Olivia whispered to Fitz, kissing his cheek.

"Nine?" Fitz asked, sticking his tongue out as Alex handed over a card.

Once they finished their game, Olivia found a children's television channel on the small television in the corner of the room, successfully distracting her from their adult talk.

"I met with the head of PR for the hospital."

"What? Why?"

"America wants to know what is going on. The hospital has initially submitted a statement asking for privacy for the families, but they need to make another statement. We need to decide how we want to go about this."

"Are they your client now? Am I your client now?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Not officially… I am consulting them. And I am looking out for you."

"Why do I need to be looked out for?"

"This tragedy is… It is bigger than what happened to you. It is bigger than this hospital. It is being politicized into a larger debate on gun control, mental health, veteran's affairs and security. The fact that it happened in the shadow of the Capitol and the White House, makes it all the more frenzy for the media."

"I don't care about any of that. I don't want any more attention."

"I understand, but that means that you _should_ care about this. You can't just lay low, you have to be smart about it." Olivia shuffled through some papers in her briefcase. "Here are some of the statements the hospital drafted. Each one goes into more details about the events in different ways. They want me to tell them which one is the best, and I want to know which one portrays yourself the way you want."

"Can't they just leave my name out of this altogether?"

"The press already knows that you are amongst the survivors. Your name was trending on Twitter for 2 hours. Everybody is hungry for the drama of what went on. They are calling you a hero. America loves a good tragedy. A couple of survivors remember you locking their doors, and they talked to the press."

"Locking doors?"

"Apparently, you went locked as many doors with your key card before you were shot. At least, that is what they are saying. The hospital has stored all of the flowers and gifts in a separate room. I saw it. It is overflowing." Olivia remembered how overwhelmed she felt by all of the flowers and cards brought to her room during her hospital stay. She couldn't imagine how it would have seemed to him, so she made a special request to have them stored in a separate room.

"Shit." He mumbled too low for Alex to hear. "I don't know about any of this, Liv. Which one would you choose?"

"What do you want?" Olivia moved to sit on the edge of his bed.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you want?" Olivia repeated. "It is a question I ask all of my clients. I need to know what you want so that I can act in your best interest."

"I want for all of this to go away." He said. "I want to focus on getting better and how lucky I am to have my family with me through my recovery without _the nation_ breathing down our necks."

"Then how does this one sound?" Olivia handed him one. "It merely names you amongst the others as a survivor, as it has to, but stresses the need for personal privacy."

"Then will it be over?"

"Probably not." Olivia admitted. "I've had extra security placed on the hall, because paparazzi has been clamoring for exclusive images."

"Paparazzi?"

"We just have to wait it out." She clasped his hand in hers. "People will lose interest. A Kardashian will have a baby or California will be ravaged with wildfires. The news will get bored with you."

"I prefer it when you are the famous one in our relationship."

"I will get this to the hospital's PR."

"Mommy?" Alex asked.

"Yes?" Olivia looked up to see Alex clearly bored with the television.

"Is this where I was born?"

"Yes, baby."

"In this room?"

"No." Olivia chuckled. "In a different room."

"Can I see it?"

"Uh…" Olivia honestly couldn't remember which room it was. Those days were such a haze.

"Room 4312." Fitz whispered.

"You remember that?"

"Of course." Fitz shrugged the best he could despite his injuries.

"Let's go, Alex." Olivia smiled. She turned to Fitz, "Will you be okay for a little while?"

"I've got my magic button." He grinned, holding up his drug button.

"That is so comforting." Olivia rolled her eyes. She positioned Thomas in her arms comfortably and took Alex's hand. "Let's go find where you were born."

She walked Alex to the room where she was born. Alex quickly lost interest in the hotel room that looked just like all of the other rooms, so they walked back. Olivia came back down a different elevator than they went up originally. She noticed a buzz of people at the end of the hall. The entire hall was empty, except for the final room. Olivia saw a couple of men and women in suits. She also saw a couple of police officers whispering to each other. Then it hit her. That was where they were keeping the shooter.

It didn't even cross her mind that she had Alex at her side and Thomas in her arms. Her legs started walking towards the room.

"Ma'am." The voice of an officer stopped her. "This is a restricted area. You can't come any closer."

Olivia still could not make her legs stop. She kept on walking towards the room, ignoring the cautious 'ma'am's' of the officer.

"Mommy." Alex tugged on her hand. Olivia snapped out of whatever trance she was in. "He told you to stop."

"I'm sorry." Olivia shook her head and took a couple of steps back. Thomas wriggled and began to make some undecipherable gibberish noises. "Let's go back to daddy."

/

"I have been meaning to pay you a visit, but with this new education bill passing, my hands have pretty much been glued to the podium." Abbey apologized over the phone.

Olivia was using Abbey's call as an excuse to go grab food from the hospital cafeteria. "Don't apologize, I know that you have been busy."

"How is he?"

"Alive." Olivia said softly. Her voice caught in a lump in her voice, even though she tried her hardest to act normal "Which is all I can ask for." She added after subtly clearing her throat away from her phone's microphone.

"The president wanted to send a floral arrangement. I told him I would take care of it, but I wanted to check with you, first. I know that Fitz and Daniel aren't exactly—"

"We are past that." All of that drama and misunderstanding seemed trivial today, when Fitz was clinging to his life. "But save the taxpayers' dollars. He doesn't want any more attention right now."

"I'm going to stop by tonight. I can move some meetings around—"

"You don't have to do that. I don't want to distract you from your job." A television screen caught Olivia's eye. Ironically enough, they were replaying Abbey's morning briefing. "I really enjoy seeing you kick ass on the television."

"Then what do you need?" Abbey asked.

Olivia took a seat in one of the chairs in the waiting room, "Can we just… Catch up? I'm in need of some normalcy right now."

"I have some news, but I wanted to wait until I could deliver it in person. And… After Fitz is released from the hospital."

"Is it good or bad?"

"Good. I think."

"I would pay for some good news right now."

"I haven't told David yet, or… Anybody. So keep a tight lid on this." Abbey said, even though she knew that Olivia never had a problem with keeping secrets. "But I think pregnant."

"What?" Olivia gasped. "You think? Have you taken a test?"

"Yes, and it was positive."

"So you _are_."

"I mean, I think so. I just took the test last week. I haven't told David yet or seen a doctor. It isn't, like, _official_ , you know? Pregnancy tests can be wrong all the time. There's like a thousand soap operas based around it."

"Why haven't you told David yet? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. We are fine. It's not that, it's just…" Abbey trailed off.

"You don't think you are ready to be a mother." Olivia deduced.

"I'm worried that a baby will change how great things are with David."

"I remember thinking the same thing with number two." Olivia chuckled.

"Did it?"

"Yes." She said honestly. "But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing."

"The thought of growing a human inside of me is also daunting. I mean, the thought of going into labor…"

"Is terrifying. I know. I've been there. Almost as terrifying as actually going through it. I've also been _there_. It is okay to be afraid, Abbey. It is a part of the process."

"I need to tell him, don't I?"

"Yes. Under all of this fear is joy, too. Experience it with him. Then schedule your first doctor's appointment. I happen to know some great ones."

"No offense, Liv, but I'm not comfortable with having your husband look up my skirt."

"Jesus Christ, me neither." Olivia laughed. It felt good to laugh. "I meant the other doctors in his department. I know which ones I would trust. I can recommend one to you."

"I would like that."

"So what else is new? How are the hallowed halls of power at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.?"

"The usual. Always staying one step ahead of the game, just to realize everybody turned in a different direction."

"You can't tell from the other side of the podium."

"You could have warned me about the Jovardi thing. I actually had some important shit to say that morning, but I was overrun by _Good Day U.S.A._ , of all shows. They split screened me."

"I thought I timed it so that you wouldn't be blind-sighted with any questions about the President's thoughts." Olivia chuckled to herself.

"I did manage to wrap it up before Ashley from BNC could ask me. I saw it in her eyes that she was going to. She's relentless."

"She's good at her job. You should respect that." Olivia always admired BNC's White House correspondent. She was always fearless and put pressure where pressure needed to be applied. Unfortunately, Abbey was often who needed pressuring.

"Well I respect you for doing what you've done. Liv, if this sexual harassment thing is as big as I think it is, you just made history. _And_ the world a whole lot better for little girls."

"Thank you." Olivia sighed. "I thought that this case was going to be simple once she went public, but this morning we were served a lawsuit."

"From whom?"

"August Alsino himself. It is a defamation case."

"Come on… We've faced worse."

"I know, I know. It just comes at a complicated time." Olivia noticed how Abbey used _we_ instead of _you_. It reminded her how much ass kicking and taking names they did together when she worked for her.

"If I can do anything to help, let me know."

"You mean like quitting and coming back to work for me?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of getting the President to show some solidarity." Abbey said.

"I'll let you know…" Olivia wanted to remind Abbey that she missed her. OPA was still not whole ever since she left, but she knew that the White House press podium was where she belonged. She earned it, and she deserved it.

"But, you know… The thought of being responsible for an entirely new human has me thinking… About my future at the White House."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm putting in 14-hour days. My sleep schedule is non-existent. I can't remember the last time I ate a meal what wasn't pre-packaged and consumable while walking. If I am actually pregnant, I might consider resigning."

"Your priorities do shift once you become a mother."

"I just don't want to be looked at as a failure, you know? Like one of those women who choose a family over her own ambition."

"Look at the news cycle, Abbey. The world is changing for women. Nobody would look at you as a failure, and if they do, then they are living in the wrong century. I mean, Jonathon Daniels only served 19 days as Press Secretary under Roosevelt."

"You are right."

"Have you given any thought to what you will do after?"

"The natural route would be tenure at the Poli Sci department of some college with a 15% acceptance rate."

"You? As a professor?" Olivia couldn't contain her laughter at the thought.

"I could be a teacher." Abbey defended.

"I went to law school with you, Abbey. I remember you mastering the art of sleeping in class."

"Yeah, I did hate school. I would bore myself to death."

"You could come back."

"Jump from one high octane, adrenaline-junkie job to the next. Nice."

"I'm serious… We miss you. And the perks of being a self-employed mother is that I can be very understanding of new mothers in the work place. You were understanding of me in the beginning."

"I'll think about it." Abbey said honestly. "I've got a meeting to get to. I'll call you later."

"Goodbye, Abbey."

/


	28. Chapter 28

**Sorry about the delay. I meant to post this a couple of nights ago, but I got distracted by Beyoncé's Coachella performance because, come on. That shit was distract-worthy. Anyways, this is the last chapter update. I have an epilogue that I will post on the night of the finale, but this is pretty much the end of the road. Unfortunately, this will be my last fanfic. With the series wrapping, I feel the need to wrap it up myself. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.** **Thank you to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, and reviewed this project. Y'all have empowered me to create these little worlds with all of the characters we love.**

* * *

 **THREE MONTHS LATER**

Olivia relaxed back in her bed. She had about fifteen minutes before Fitz would come back upstairs. She had fifteen minutes to herself, which was incredibly rare these days. She slid between the covers, careful not to get too comfortable or else she wouldn't want to get back up. Her fingers slid underneath the fabric of her underwear. She took a deep breath, letting her fingers take over her cluttered brain as they found her clit. Slowly, but predictably, Olivia began to relax. She pulled the covers up to her neck and gently cupped her breast. She was about halfway there, when something interrupted her.

"Liv?"

Fitz's voice made her freeze. She carefully pulled her hand out of her pants and lifted her head. "Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"Just resting." She sat up and got out of bed like nothing happened, discretely wiping her hand on the inside of her shirt. "Do you want to shower tonight or tomorrow morning?"

"Tonight, you have too much going on in the morning."

"Come on, let's get you to your grandpa chair." Olivia winked, leading him to the bathroom.

"You are enjoying this too much." Fitz said, as Olivia slowly undressed him. Olivia frowned when she saw the scars. They were inescapable and gruesome, even two months after the incident. Fitz followed her gaze and decided to distract her.

"What are you doing?" Olivia asked, as he began to toy with the hem of her shirt.

"There is a power balance here. I'm naked, and you are not."

"You are lucky that I am not doing this in a turtleneck." Olivia tested the water. It was hot enough, so she grabbed the nozzle and began to wash Fitz. " _FITZ_." She protested as his tugged at her shorts.

"I'm cleared for sexual activity."

"From the waist down."

"Luckily, that is the half of me that can facilitate sexual activity." He smirked.

"Hold this." Olivia handed him the nozzle and began to lather a loofah. "You still can't take deep breaths, you could hurt yourself."

Fitz got a mischievous look in his eyes, and before Olivia could stop him, he was spraying her with the water stream. "You're wet."

"I could kill you right now." Olivia disarmed him and sprayed him in the face.

"Seriously… Your clothes are wet. There is no need for them to stay on you."

Olivia realized that no matter what happened, she was still in control. "If you insist…"

She stood dangerously close to him and slowly pulled her tank top over her head, letting her breasts settle back into place. Fitz already had his fingers looped around her shorts and was pulling them down. She tossed her wet clothes to the floor and began to lather his chest. She was careful, softly massaging the suds into his chest so that it didn't hurt. Her breasts were right at his eye level, and she was trying to pretend that she didn't know how it was affecting him.

"Close your mouth, or you might get soap in it." Olivia said, moving the loofah down his abs. He made no effort to hide his erection, almost adjusting his hips to make it more obvious. His hand wandered around to her ass, but she applied pressure to his ribs, making him take a sharp inhale. "That is what I thought."

"You are a cruel woman."

"I am nursing you back to health after a close encounter with death." Olivia finished rinsing his legs off and moved to stand behind him. "You should be more grateful. Close your eyes."

Fitz obeyed, as she rinsed his hair. He sighed in relaxation as she gently massaged his scalp with shampoo. "I love you."

"I know. Keep your mouth shut unless you want to taste soap."

"There are a couple of things I would rather taste." Fitz leaned his head back and winked at her.

"Do you hear the things that come out of your mouth sometimes?" Olivia laughed. She finished rinsing his hair and circled back to the front of him. "How is your pain? Scale of 1-10."

"10." He said, completely turning her question into something else.

Olivia stood between his legs, with her hands on his shoulders. "Be very still."

"Okay."

"I'm serious." Olivia said. "Try and get fresh with me, and I will stop."

"Deal."

She reached for the bottle of baby oil on the wall and poured a small amount in her hand. Fitz spread his legs so that she could stand between them. She reached down, firmly grasping his penis in one hand, while placing her other hand on the chair back behind him. He had the best view of her fully naked, as she began to pleasure him. He strained his neck to kiss her, but she pulled back.

"Don't get fresh." Olivia reminded, moving his hand from her hip back to his side. "Just relax."

He focused on how beautiful she was and the incredible it felt when she was pleasuring him. "Fuck, I love you."

"I know." She smirked.

"Can I _please_?"

"No." Olivia wasn't letting him touch her, not because he was she was worried he might overextend himself. She was worried that if she let him touch her, then she would lose her self-control. She wasn't the only sexually frustrated person in that shower. She jerked him off until he was cumming in her hand.

"Fuck." He moaned. His torso was in pain, but it was nothing compared to how she just made him feel. She finished rinsing him off and turned the water off.

"How is your pain?" She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. She helped Fitz stand with his crutch and began to dry him off.

"Zero." He grinned.

"Mmhmm." Olivia laughed. "Can you get your pajamas on by yourself? I need to go drag Alex from the TV."

"I can manage."

"I'll be back after I tuck her in, and we can do those physical therapy exercises."

When Olivia came back from getting Alex into her pajamas and in bed, she found Fitz bracing against the dresser. He was struggling to get his leg in the right position to stretch, and the strenuous activity was making him break a sweat.

"Fitz, what are you doing? You can't do that alone."

Fitz grunted, letting her help him to the bed. "I was trying to do it so that you wouldn't have to help me."

"It is my job to help you." Olivia grabbed a tissue from the night stand and dabbed his brow. "Just relax for a minute, okay? Catch your breath."

"You work 14-hour days as it is. You were up at 5am taking care of Thomas. By 8am, you had Alex at school. You then went to work until lunch, came back and helped me do my mid-day exercises and take care of Thomas. After working from home, making sure that Thomas and I have everything we need, you pick up Alex from school. You were somehow working long distance through all of this. You cooked dinner. You are running this family all by yourself. I can't even be a good husband to you."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I know what you were doing earlier. I can't even pleasure you."

"You are mad because I was masturbating?"

"No. I'm mad because I can't give you what you need."

"Fitz, stop talking like that."

"It is now 8pm. You should be relaxing with a glass of wine and preparing to do it all over again in the morning. Not… Helping me try to walk on my dead leg."

"You will only make things worse, if you don't do it right." Olivia stood up and put her hands under his armpits. "Come on, let's try this the right way."

"I can do this by myself." Fitz said. "Take a break."

"Stand." Olivia ignored him.

Fitz sighed, following her orders. He put his hands on her shoulders, using her to steady himself.

"Easy. You don't want to get light headed getting up." She took a step back, putting more distance between them. "Put your foot down. Try to walk."

Fitz cautiously put his foot down. He tried to walk but any attempt was futile and painful. He stumbled, but she caught him, guiding him back to the bed.

"That was good. You are getting better."

"I'm stagnant. I haven't made any progress in a week."

"Last week you couldn't even put any pressure on it. You are making progress." Olivia kissed his forehead. "You just have to be patient. And keep trying."

"I'm going downstairs for a glass of water." He reached for his crutch.

"I can go get it for you."

"I've got it." Fitz pushed her hand away, when she tried to help him up.

"Fitz—"

"I've got this." He said harsher than he meant. She pulled her hand back, like he was a hot stove. He hobbled past her on his way to the stairs.

She was stunned at his hostility. He had outbursts of anger ever since he returned home, and she didn't know what to do except for let him have his way. One minute he was his usual self, joking and kind spirited. The next, he found himself frustrated at his state of being and was lashing out. She didn't know… She wasn't equipped to deal with him in those moments, so she just let him be. If this was a part of his healing process, then she would be there for him no matter what. After a couple of minutes, she went downstairs. He was sitting at the counter with a bottle of scotch.

"That isn't water."

"It will help me sleep."

She knew what he meant by that. Nightmares were a common occurrence. He woke up many times in the night sweating and confused, unable to communicate what he was feeling. Olivia sat next to him and took a sip from his glass. Not a full sip, but enough to wet her lips and feel the sting of the alcohol.

"You should go to bed." He said.

"Maybe this is my glass of wine."

"I'm sorry about earlier."

"I forgive you."

"I didn't mean to lash out."

"I know." Olivia frowned as he poured himself a second drink. "Maybe you should slow down. You still have to get up the stairs."

"Livvie… Can I just be alone for a minute?"

"Of course." Olivia kissed his temple, returning to the bedroom alone.

/

Olivia woke up to some disturbance. She was too tired to acknowledge it, until she realized what it was. It was Fitz, again. Moaning, groaning in his sleep. She knew it was a matter of seconds before he turned violent. She watched his face contort in distress as beads of sweat formed on his brow.

"Fitz…" She whispered, gently nudging his shoulder. He didn't wake, but she didn't want to startle him anymore. He started tossing, so she held his hands firmly so that he wouldn't hurt either of them. "Fitz, I need you to wake up. _Please_."

" _No_." He eyes flung open. He started at the ceiling out of breath.

"Fitz…" Olivia released his hands. She reluctantly wiped a sweat soaked curl from his forehead. "You are here. You are safe. Just… Relax."

Fitz nodded, the crazy look from his eyes slowly faded. Olivia sat up and handed him a glass of water. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Olivia looked at the clock. It was 3:12am. She had to be up in two hours. "It is okay."

Fitz set the glass on the night stand and laid down again. Olivia followed, propping her head on her elbow and watching him stare at the ceiling. It was clear that he wasn't ready to go to sleep again.

"Fitz, I think you should consider therapy."

"Therapy?"

"To work through this. These nightmares… Aren't normal."

"I can sleep on the couch until they pass."

"And what if they don't?" Olivia leaned back against her pillows. "If you were your own patient, you know that you would recommend a therapist."

"Talking to a therapist means going through all of it again. With a stranger."

"Then talk to me." Olivia said. She scooted closer to him in the bed. She couldn't rest her head on his chest like she always did because it caused more breathing difficulties for him, so she just rested her leg along his. "I can be a _very_ good listener."

"I have nothing to talk about, I mean… I can't talk about something I can't remember."

"Why don't you start with the nightmare?"

Fitz sighed heavily. "They never make sense."

"Well, what do you remember from them?"

"Never anything concrete. Just… panic. Just my heart beating out of my chest and a sense that I can't get to you." His chest tightened with a harsh breath.

"Woah." Olivia reacted to his body tensing. She brought her hand to his cheek. "Everything is okay. You are here with me. I'm okay. The kids are okay."

"I know."

"Just… Relax. Take deep breaths. What else do you remember?"

"I… that is all I remember."

"Okay, then." Olivia lightly rested her hand on his chest. "That is all you have to say then."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Olivia said. She hated the thought of him getting frustrated over things he couldn't help. "Just try to go back to sleep. I'm here if you need me."

/

 _This just in. August Alsino, the exiled film producer and director who was outed for raping then-minor Jasmine Jovardi, has finally been spotted. Alsino went off the grid after Jovardi came forward with the abuse. Today, he was spotted at a luxury resort in Curaçao. The property is owned by none other than businessman Robert Francisco, another of the accused abusers in Jovardi's book_.

"It must be nice to run away from your problems to a tropical island." Olivia mumbled, working on a press release on her laptop. She was sitting on the couch with her feet tucked under herself.

 _Alsino's wife has remained that she doesn't know where he is. When confronted by reporters, she claimed that they are officially separated, and she is in no hurry to ever see his face again. Alsino's production company 'Desert Pictures' has fired him on the basis of a morality clause in his contract. His brother, Aaron has taken over as CEO._

"I'm sorry, this is obnoxious." Olivia flipped the channel, but the next news channel was the same story. She turned the TV off, returning back to the document on her computer. "What's got you so quiet over there?"

"Just some work things."

"You aren't supposed to be working." Olivia reminded.

"I know. It's just that Boorstein has no idea what he is doing." Fitz sighed. "Why would they assign someone who has never practiced as an OB-GYN run the department?"

"You just have to let him be the interim, until you can return to work."

"He's implementing policies that I never approved. He's literally running the department into the ground, and nobody is realizing it."

"Baby, there's nothing you can do about it. It is out of your control."

"Well, the administration loves him. I wouldn't be surprised if they offer him my job permanently."

"They aren't going to do that." Olivia chuckled, shutting her laptop and setting it on the coffee table.

"You don't know that."

"I do." Olivia scooted closer so that she was sitting next to him. She put her hand on his. "A hero who risked his life saving his patients being fired for risking his life is a powder keg of lawsuits and bad press. They wouldn't take a match anywhere near that."

"The shooting was over two months ago. He's practically put pictures of his family up in _my_ office."

"So what? He'll just have to take them back down when you return."

"I need to go in. Just to show my face. Let people know that I'm not gone for good."

"No. That wouldn't help anything." Olivia sighed. "Stop worrying. Your job is safe. Remember the last time they tried to fire you?"

She expected a smile or chuckle from him. The last time his job was at risk, he came to Olivia Pope & Associates for help. It was the first time they reunited after Alex's birth. But he didn't smile. He kept staring at the documents on his computer.

"I'm going to bed. It is late." She kissed his temple. "Come join me?"

"I'm going to stay down here for a bit. I still have some work to do."

/

Olivia might have felt a little guilty for staying in the office so late. It was rare that she stayed past lunch with Fitz's injury, so being there after dark was especially rare. However, she had an excuse. Abbey announced her resignation earlier that day. She was coming by to discuss returning to OPA. Olivia knew that she wasn't completely sold on the idea, so she had a plan of seducing her.

"Hey, stranger." Abbey peeped her head in Olivia's office.

"Hey. Come in." Olivia motioned for her to have a seat on the couch. She pulled a bottle of wine out of her drawer.

"That is cruel." Abbey rested her hand on her gradual bump. It wasn't noticeable, until her hand flattened the loose fabric of her shirt against it.

"It is for you." She flashed her the label. _Sparkling grape juice_. "It got me through both of my pregnancies. I found a winery based in North Carolina that pays just as much attention to the complexities of the grapes as normal wineries. It isn't '94 DuBellay, but it helped me with my wine withdrawal."

"Might as well pretend." Abbey accepted a glass.

"You are showing." Olivia grinned, pouring herself a regular glass of wine.

"I am." Abbey agreed. "Shit, Liv, this _is_ good."

"I pretty much keep it on tap here. I've got a few bottles left over from breast feeding Thomas, but I could order more cases if a certain pregnant someone returned home."

"Here we go."

"I watched your resignation. It was good. You were professional and graceful. The press around it has been positive, but you already know that."

"I had to turn over my access badge today. That was fun." She said sarcastically.

"After I turned down the White House to start OPA, I had to do the same. But I learned that passes mean nothing. Either of us could walk onto that property and have someone vouch for us in a heartbeat."

"Well, I'm officially unemployed." Abbey held her glass up with a cheeky grin.

"Cheers." Olivia clinked her glass.

"What trouble is OPA meddling in today?"

"Hmmm. Nice try. Confidential."

"That bad? Blink twice if it's a closeted Republican governor with a gay sex tape."

"You could know, if you came back. Your office is still just like you left it."

"That's a lie. I peeped it when I came in. Someone stole my stapler."

"It was Quinn. Hers broke." Olivia laughed. "Come on… Don't make me beg."

"Oh, I already decided months ago." Abbey smirked. "I'm coming back, I just wanted to see how desperate you would get. The pregnant wine is a nice touch."

"I'm about to take back my offer, just because you said that."

"Did you really think I would go somewhere else? Teach Political Science 234 to the hungover masses of silver spoon eighteen-year olds? Slide into any K Street lobbying firm to get paid six figures to get groped by some slick millionaire? Once a gladiator, always a gladiator."

"So it will be just like old times." Olivia grinned.

"Well, not _just_ like it." She patted her stomach. "But pretty close."

They worked out the details of Abbey's return. They had to draft a contract, although neither needed to sign it. It was more to outline her role returning. Olivia had to be conscious of how being the press secretary changed Abbey. Abbey never had a problem with disobeying Olivia or challenging her in the past. The transition from being at the axis of power to a gladiator had to be careful. Once their details were sorted, their conversation dissolved into more personal, as they caught up with each other. Olivia was pacing her wine to Abbey's of grape juice, which left her a little buzzed.

"Shouldn't you be getting home?" Abbey asked. "I mean, I don't want to keep you here to catch up if you have to get home to your family."

"No, it's fine. I'm not in a rush." Olivia said, trying to hide her hesitation to go home to face Fitz.

"How are you really?" Abbey asked.

"I'm fine."

"Liv…"

"What?"

"You almost lost your husband… Again."

"But I didn't." Olivia found the social comfort of raising her glass to her lips. "Everything is okay."

"When I dropped off that casserole the other day, Fitz didn't sound like everything was okay."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing." Abbey eyed her critically. "But he didn't sound like his normal self…"

"He is still recovering."

"Is everything okay? I mean, it has been months."

"We are just in a weird space."

"Because of the shooting?"

"He's… Different. I mean, I expected some type of change after the shooting, but I didn't expect _this_. It is like, one minute, he is the man I married. Then the next, he gets caught up in his head about the shooting. Not even the shooting – he gets his mind fucked over these things that he can't help. He makes problems out of things that aren't even an issue. I thought that giving him space… Giving him the freedom to work through these things was the right thing to do, but it hasn't stopped." The buzz from the wine, made her spill out everything that had been pent up in her the past few months. "I don't know what else to do. I try everything to be a good wife, but it isn't working. We just keep drifting, and when I try to pull us back together, I just make it worse."

"Maybe it isn't you."

"What?"

"At some point, you guys have to move on. You can't keep living in the shadow of what happened that day. You need to move on."

"That is what I want to do. But I don't know how to get him there."

"Look…" Abbey paused to try to find her words. "Can I tell you how I see it?"

"I've never been able to stop you before."

"Boss up. Make him do the same. You guys love each other – honestly – on a level that makes most soap operas look dull. Quit pussyfooting around each other. Give him no option but to get over it. Quit babying him."

"But what if I can't? _Make_ him get over it?"

"You are Olivia Pope. Don't forget that."

"It is late." Olivia checked her phone. It was only 9pm, but she imagined that Abbey was exhausted. Alex was probably still waiting up for her, despite being tucked in. "Plus you start your new job tomorrow."

"Goodnight Liv. It feels good to be home."

/

"What are you working on?" Olivia asked when she saw Fitz's glass of scotch. He was sitting at the kitchen table with some work documents. She could tell immediately that he was in one of his moods.

"Just, uh… Trying to get this proposal put together so I can get it to the hospital. Boorstein is going to reject it, but I figured maybe I can outweigh him."

"I thought we agreed that you would step back from the hospital."

"Sure." He didn't look up. He was barely acknowledging her.

"So why are you working on this?" She felt like she was talking to Alex when she knew that she was wrong, but didn't want to talk about it.

"Because _you_ decided that I was taking a step back." He looked up at her harshly. "Not me."

"Can we talk about therapy." Olivia asked quietly. She took a seat across from him.

"Yes, we can, but the answer is still no." Fitz dismissed.

"Fitz, you need to be talking to someone."

"I am fine."

"Well, I'm not." Her sharp words made him finally set his work down. Her voice cracked into a whisper. "I can't do this anymore."

"I'm sorry." Fitz softened, setting his work to the side. "I know that you have been making a lot of sacrifices, and as soon as I get back on my feet—"

"I am not talking about that. I am fine with putting in overtime, really. What I can't take is you not being _present_. You drinking. You having mood swings. This _paranoia_ around your job. You not being able to sleep for more than 3 hours without waking up from a nightmare, then refusing to get help for it."

"Liv, you weren't the one that was shot."

"No shit." Olivia sighed, collecting herself before she got too angry. She stood up and walked over to the fridge, pouring herself a glass of water. It bought her some time to collect her thoughts. "Which is why I am so frustrated. I hate that this happened to you, I really do. If I could reach into your brain and figure out why you are acting out the way you are – what demons you can't quite beat – then I would. But I can't. So you need to boss up and do something. At least do it for me."

"Boss up?" Fitz scoffed, reaching for the bottle of scotch.

Olivia took the bottle sliding it out of his reach. "I'm not asking."

Fitz let out a long sigh, staring at his glass, swirling the little bit of liquor left. "Fine."

"Fine?"

"I'll see a therapist." He said, downing the rest of his glass.

/

 **TWO MONTHS LATER**

"Good morning." Olivia said, coming into the conference room. "Let's put the court preparation on a backburner for now. We have new incoming."

"Thank god." Marcus said. "What? There is only so much you can prepare for when the plaintiff won't even show up to court. It's boring. I can't be the only one bored with this?"

"I'm bored." Huck admitted. There was minimal tech work to be done, so he had pretty much been twiddling his thumbs recently.

"Work here is never boring." Olivia defended, feigning mock insult. "Not when the daughter of Greece's president is caught on Instagram Live drunk peeing in an alleyway." She slid her laptop over to Huck to connect to the TV. The video was on the big screen within seconds.

"I saw that on Twitter this morning." Marcus chuckled. "Disgusting."

"Oh, so guys can whip it out in any alleyway, but girls can't?" Abbey challenged.

"Touché."

"The video is everywhere already. They are not so concerned about keeping it under wraps, since in this age of technology, that would be useless. They are more worried about how it reflects back on the President. He is preparing to ask for American military support in protecting the oil found in their Mediterranean archipelagos. Obviously, the Greek head of state is devoting his full resources to handling this. He wants us to handle American press."

"To spin it so that he doesn't look like a leader that can't control his own family."

"Exactly. Abbey, I want profiles. Huck, try and stop the sharing of the video on other social media platforms. Quinn, find every person present at the recording of the video, and make sure they don't reach out to TMZ. Marcus, work your contacts at the state department to gauge how they are taking this."

"I'll make a second coffee refill round. Who is in?" Quinn said. Huck and Marcus raised their hands.

"One cup a day. Doctor's orders." Abbey patted her baby bump.

"I can't stay for long. I have an appointment. I'll be back in two hours. I want results by then. Once we get a good read on how the media is consuming this, we can strategize."

"Wait… Where are you going?" Quinn asked.

"To get away from your nosey ass." Abbey quipped. Olivia was grateful for Abbey's quick interference. Abbey knew that Fitz was going to therapy. It had been three months since he started skyping with a therapist. Today, they were actually going to her office. The psychiatrist wanted to talk to both Fitz and Olivia, as a milestone in his therapy.

"I'll be back in two hours." Olivia repeated. She drove back home to pick up Fitz. A neighbor agreed to watch Thomas, so that he wouldn't be a problem during the meeting.

Fitz's therapist's office was well a hike down the interstate into Virginia, but traffic was light. Once they got to the office, Olivia admitted only to herself that she was nervous. She had no idea what he had been going through in therapy. She didn't even know anything about this therapist. Fitz found her. They began with three skype sessions a week. It progressed to frequent calls. Olivia would come home sometimes to Fitz on the phone with her. She respected his privacy enough to never eavesdrop, but she was always curious about what they were talking about. Whatever did go down in those sessions, it seemed to work. All she knew was that Fitz's nightmares were less frequent, and when it seemed like he was lapsing into his bad ways, he would take out a journal and write in it. He also had not picked up a glass of scotch since their fight a month ago.

Sitting in the waiting room, she didn't realize that she was shaking her ankle, until Fitz reached over to stop it, calmly placing his palm on her foot.

"Relax." He whispered. "You are going to love Amaya."

"You call her by her first name?"

"She doesn't call me _Dr. Grant_." He shrugged. "I'm excited for you to meet her." He squeezed Olivia's hand.

Soon enough, they were let into her office. "Fitz, it is a pleasure to finally meet in person." Dr. Amaya Peiman extended her hand to him, and then Olivia. "And you must be Olivia."

"The pleasure is all mine." Olivia shook her hand firmly, taking in her appearance. She was gorgeous. Older than Olivia, but she had long, silky black hair and eyes that were both warm and exciting. "Dr.—"

"Amaya. Just Amaya. I find that titles create a power imbalance between my patients and me. We are all equals on this earth. No piece of paper and a six-figure student loan can change that."

"It's a pretty piece of paper you have on the wall there." Olivia nodded towards her diplomas framed on the wall. _Harvard Medical School_.

"I actually chose Amaya because of that." Fitz said as he hobbled on his crutch over to the couch. "A colleague studied with her to become a pediatrician."

"What made you switch to therapy?" Olivia asked, honestly. There was another degree from Yale in psychology.

"I got tired of seeing all of the blood. Plus, I find issues of the mind way more fascinating than issues of the body." Olivia joined Fitz on the couch as Amaya sat across from them. Fitz could feel how tense Olivia was, so he subtly rested his hand on the small of her back.

"Let's begin. This session will go a little different than usual. I feel that your progress has been monumental, and now you are ready to vocalize some of what we have worked on with your wife. While you owe nobody anything, a certain relief can be found in feeling heard and understood."

"Okay." Fitz nodded. Olivia noticed how relaxed he was in Amaya's presence. It was like she had a calming effect on him.

"Most of our sessions have revolved around trying to unearth the truth around his traumatic experience and find connections with his current actions. Fitz, I want you to communicate to Olivia what we have worked on. Start from the beginning. Talk about what happened the day of the shooting."

Fitz cleared his throat, shifting to face Olivia. His eyes were clear and readable. "You remember how I told you about the mother I was visiting—"

"I won't interrupt this any further, but remember how we worked on not assuming?" Amaya interjected. "Speak clearly and leave nothing up to memory."

"Right, uh… So the day of the attack, I was visiting a new mother. She reminded me of you, only because of her circumstance. She was hit by a car running a red light – nine months pregnant. The father was not in the picture. I wanted to check up on her because I remember how difficult it was when you had Alex. I was barely there for five minutes when I heard the gun shots. I don't know how I knew exactly what they were, but I knew that I had my key card which locks any door on the hall. So I locked her in there, and told her to sit along the wall. I went from room to room, locking the doors. The gun shots never stopped, but I didn't think they were on my floor. They sounded so far away, almost like the gunshots were on a different plane. The next thing I know, I felt pain. It felt like hot shards of glass were being driven into my leg. It was so intense, I wasn't even sure if it was pain. I felt in shock. I stumbled, but the pain didn't stop. Then it was in my chest. Then I felt the floor against my face." Fitz paused, taking a moment to collect himself.

Olivia didn't realize there were tears running down her cheek, until Amaya extended a Kleenex. The expression on his face made it seem like he was going through that exact pain again. She squeezed his hand tightly in hers to encourage him.

"I remember waking up and knowing something was wrong. I knew I wasn't dead, but I knew something was different. I knew that whatever happened, I had failed you. In the moment, I couldn't cognitively connect the shooting to what I was going through, but I knew that whatever happened – I wouldn't be myself. Does that make sense? I was now the problem. I immediately thought about you. If I left you, or wasn't the same, you would have to start over. You would be left with two kids and I wouldn't be able to help you, to provide for you. I couldn't stand to leave you. You, Alex, and Thomas deserve the best, and I couldn't bear to think of your lives being negatively impacted, because I wouldn't be able to _be there_."

"Fitz…" Olivia whispered.

"You have been… Incredible through all of this. You are strong for Alex and Thomas. You have cared for me in ways I could have never imagined. You spend eighteen hours a day selflessly living for others, whether it is me, the kids, or your clients at OPA. Even in your sleep, I am still a problem with my nightmares. I hate feeling like a problem. My inability to cope with my disability led me to become hostile, even though I am mad at myself. I felt that if I was just harsh enough in my words or actions, you would leave me alone. If I poured myself an extra glass of scotch, even though I saw how much it hurt you, then you would see me for the problem I am. That you would realize that I am not worth fighting for or any of the stress I have put you through. I was selfish, and I was only thinking about myself. I lost hope in ever returning to _our_ normal, and I let that manifest itself in damaging actions. I am sorry."

"Don't apologize for anything." Olivia dabbed her eye, although she was sure that her makeup was already ruined.

Fitz pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. Sher recognized it as the same stationary from the journal he had been keeping. "One of the things that Amaya has helped me work on, is Written Narrative Exposure. I've never been one to write down my feelings, so it was strange. Whenever I feel these feelings of worthlessness and inconvenience, I write. However, all of my writings turned into letters. Some were to Alex and Thomas. Some to Karen and Jerry. Even a few to Mellie or colleagues at James Madison. But most of them were to you. I, uh, want to read one to you."

Olivia felt incredibly self-conscious, but she knew it was important for Fitz to say what he needed to say. She just wished that his therapist was not five feet away, watching intently. She felt naked and exposed, but she nodded for him to continue.

 _Dear Livvie._

 _I see you. I see you when you don't even think that I see you. I see the inward moan of exhaustion when it is 5am and Thomas is crying for you… again. I see the fear in your eyes, even in complete darkness, when I wake up in a sweat, convulsing. I see you rub the arches of your feet when you come home and kick off your heels. I see the cracks in your face when Alex needs something. I see the tension in your shoulders when you are working on a case, but then have to help me do something simple like carrying something up the stairs._

 _But then I see the you that you think I see. I see you getting out of bed, an hour before your alarm to go feed Thomas and rock him back to sleep to your hums of "O-o-h Child." I see you comforting me back from my night terrors, running your hands through my hair and whispering that everything is okay. I see you starting dinner the second you come home, even though your feet are on fire. I see you remaining positive and interacting with Alex in a way that makes her heart soar and dreams become more vivid. I see the way you have dropped everything to make sure I am recovering and healing._

 _I see your vulnerability and the way you power through it. I want you to be vulnerable. I want you to be able to breathe. I want you to know that even wonder woman cries sometimes. Yet, allowing you that would mean that somebody can pick up the pieces. I don't know if I can do that. I am not strong enough to let you be human. The only superpower I have for you is my love._

 _But love can't change diapers or fix dinner. Love is just love._

Fitz folded the paper back up, returning it to his pocket. There was nothing but silence. Olivia couldn't speak, and even if her voice could miraculously make noise, she had no words. She held his hand tightly, not breaking eye contact. Then she remembered where they were. She cleared her throat, attempting again to salvage her makeup from her emotions.

"Olivia," Amaya began. "How about you tell Fitz how that made you feel."

"I…" Olivia glanced awkwardly at Amaya. "I'm not _comfortable_ …"

"How about I give you some privacy." Amaya nodded, understanding her hesitancy to speak with a third party in the room. It was a struggle from the start for Amaya to feel comfortable opening up to her, so she understood Olivia's hesitancy. She left the office to them.

"Your love is enough." Was all she could get out. He pulled her tightly against himself in a hug. She buried her face into his neck. "I have only been so strong because you love me." She whispered. "Do you think that I would have been able to do any of this without your love? Without knowing that you would do the same for me if the roles were reversed?"

"I love you, Olivia Pope-Grant." He mumbled against her hair. They made no move to leave their embrace, as it felt good just to hug it out. All of their frustrations and emotions were now out in the open. The feeling of his arms wrapped around her after hearing him tear out his heart like that made Olivia realize what a man he was.

After a moment, Olivia pulled back, wiping her tears. She offered Fitz a tissue, who was also freely crying, and went to retrieve Amaya. Amaya noticed the clear shift in the dynamic between them. The session wrapped shortly after a short debrief. Once back on the interstate, the car was comfortably silent. Olivia kept her hand clasped in Fitz's the entire ride home. Once they got back to their townhome, Olivia helped Fitz get back inside. She went upstairs briefly to refresh her makeup before going back to the office. Halfway through trying to hide the puffiness around her eyes, Fitz surprised her in the mirror behind her.

"Thank you for going with me today. I know how nervous you were."

"Thank you for everything. For going to therapy. For opening up like that." Olivia smiled softly. "I have to go back into work. We opened up a new case this morning."

"Go kick some ass."

"I have to ask…" Olivia said. "What made your sessions with Amaya so helpful?" She couldn't help the pang of jealousy she felt. She was no trained therapist, but she was unable to _fix_ Fitz like this stranger was. Even though therapy was her idea, she still felt uncomfortable with Fitz sharing what he shared with her today with someone else. There were countless other letters that she would never read, but Amaya did. It didn't help that Amaya was gorgeous.

"It was nice to talk to a stranger. I didn't owe her anything. She saw through me, because I could be completely honest."

"You can always be honest with me, Fitz. You know that."

"I know. But sometimes you can't help the truth you reveal. Whatever I tell you, I am conscious of your feelings. I never want to hurt you, which means that I automatically filter myself around you. It isn't that I _can't_ be honest, it is that sometimes my love for you makes it difficult to take a step back. I could do that with her."

"It doesn't help that she's hot, either, does it?" Olivia asked, not as an accusation, but an observation.

"She's attractive." Fitz shrugged, closing the space between them. He wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder and looking at her in the mirror. "But have you looked in the mirror, lately? Or… Ever?"

/

 **ONE WEEK LATER**

"How was court? Fitz asked, when Olivia came through the door. She was dressed sharper than usual, her tailored suit cutting along her defined silhouette.

"It didn't happen. Our court date got postponed. The plaintiff is still MIA. Well, MIA being whatever billionaire buddy is housing him in the Caribbean or French Riviera." Olivia joined Fitz, Alex, and Thomas on the floor, along with every single one of Alex's stuffed animals and dolls.

"That is great, right? Or bad…?"

"It's very promising. We are hoping that the judge just dismisses it if he doesn't show up. Either way, he has a flimsy case." She pecked him on the lips. "What are we doing here?"

"Welcome to my classroom." Alex said sternly.

"We are playing school." Fitz whispered into Olivia's ear.

"Alex, what are you teaching—"

"Silence!" Alex demanded in her best authoritarian voice. "You have to raise your hand."

Olivia tried not to laugh at the seriousness of her daughter. She raised her hand in compliance and waited until she was called on. "What are you teaching us?"

"I'm teaching you about American Presidents." She grinned, picking up a large picture book from her stack. "This is James Monroe…"

"How long has this been going on?" Olivia whispered as Alex rattled along the list of presidents and their fun facts from her book. She casually leaned back into Fitz so that their teacher would not catch their dialogue. She also pulled Thomas into her lap, who was curiously grabbing at Alex's stuffed animals.

"The entire afternoon." Fitz chuckled, running his hand along her back.

" _No_ talking." Alex reprimanded. "Or else you will get detention."

"Sorry, Professor Alex." Olivia said with all seriousness.

"No touching other students, either." Alex demanded, forcing Olivia to scoot a foot away from each other in compliance with their daughter's imaginary authority.

After entertaining Alex's play school for a while, Olivia raised her hand to be excused to start dinner. She thoroughly enjoyed watching from a distance as Alex gave Fitz pop quizzes, which he intentionally failed to make her teach him more. She finally rescued him once dinner was ready, forcing Alex to clean up her mess and wash up.

"How was your session today?" Olivia helped him into his chair and finished setting the table.

"Amaya and I have come to the conclusion that we can scale back the sessions to once a week." Fitz said, brushing his hand nonchalantly against her thigh as she fastened Thomas into his high chair.

"Is that why you are in such a good mood?" Olivia laughed at his not so subtle touch.

"I've just missed you all day." He trailed his hand to her wrist, pulling her back to him.

"Mmhmm." Olivia didn't protest as he pulled her onto his lap. "What will you do once you go back to work?"

"Have I told you how sexy you look in your work clothes?" Fitz unbuttoned her blazer, working off two of the buttons from her conservative neckline.

"And _that_ is why you can't have nice things." Olivia removed herself from his lap, going back to serving their plates. "Anything else exciting happen today?"

"Thomas is getting better about walking. He made it from the coffee table to the stairs today. Alex taught me that Calvin Coolidge owned a racoon."

"Plus a bear, antelope, and wallaby, but they were kept in a zoo… I worked as a tour guide in high school, remember?"

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Fitz winked.

After dinner, they fell into their nightly routine. Olivia got Alex bathed and tucked into bed with a bedtime story. Fitz offered to take his shower in the morning, so Olivia started the long process of removing her makeup and brushing her teeth before bed.

"Babe, we still have to do my physical therapy tonight."

"I haven't forgot." Olivia called back. In the last week or so, it seemed like he was declining progress with his leg. He was struggling to put weight on it, let alone use it to walk.

"Could you come here for a sec?"

"In a minute." Olivia responded past the toothbrush in her mouth.

"No, now."

"Hold on." Olivia wondered why he was being so demanding. It was almost like he was trying to return to his pre-therapy, moody self. Even with the setbacks with his leg, he had remained surprisingly positive through it. She didn't want to see him fall back.

"Then I guess I'll have to come to you." Fitz was suddenly in the mirror behind her, on two feet, with no support from anything.

"You… You are walking."

"I am." Fitz smirked. He walked back to the bathroom door with only a slight limp, locking it. "Someone told me to _boss_ _up_ , so I did."

"Fitz…" Olivia was in shock. "How long have you been able to—"

"Five days. The hospital knows that I will be returning on Monday." Fitz said, approaching her from behind. He let his hands wander shamelessly along her hips, waist, stomach… He was being so intentional that it was as if her silk night gown wasn't even there.

"And why didn't you—"

"Say anything? Because I like the element of surprise." His mouth was hot by her ear as he kissed her earlobe. " _And_ because I wanted to wait until after you won the lawsuit to do this, but now I don't know if I can wait any longer."

"I was wondering how the dishes were unloaded and the—Fitz…" Olivia realized what he was doing. His hands were softly groping her sides. She put her hands on his, easing them off of her body. "Are you sure that—"

"My breath capacity is up to 90%. I am walking, albeit with a cane. I'm about to be employed again. Now, you could ask me more questions or remind me that _doctors are the worst patients_ , or anything else that would distract me from doing this…" He kissed along her shoulder, making a trail down her arm. "Or, _this_." He took her wrist gently on his hand and raised it above her head. She watched them in the mirror as he kissed along her shoulder. Any inch of hers that she offered, he devoured. His spread fingertips brushed her nightgown up her torso until it was bunched at her breasts. Open mouthed kisses were generous along her neck which conveniently seemed to be weak under his attention.

"Fitz…"

"Don't." He turned her around and backed her up against the counter. He was down on his knees with his fingers hooked on her underwear. His lips were barely grazing the lace as he looked back up at her. She was holding her nightgown at her stomach, and there was a look of uncertainty and concern on her face. "If you want me to stop, I will stop."

Olivia pulled her nightgown over her head and let it slide from her fingertips to the floor. She ran a hand through his hair, leaning his head back so that he was facing her. "If you feel shortness of breath, _stop_."

Fitz stood, pressing her naked body against his. He leaned in like he was going to kiss her, but his lips never met hers. "Livvie, every second with you leaves me breathless." Then he kissed her, slowly and deliberately. Olivia was trying to be patient. She knew that she had to be careful with him – she didn't want to hurt him. But the length of time she had gone without his touch and the way he was kissing her was making it incredibly difficult.

He was dropped back to his knees, kissing along her stomach – along the faint scar from where she had Alex – when he pulled her underwear down. She put her leg over his shoulder, subtly pushing him further down. Her pussy was wet, and ready for him. It was time to work his superpowers.

"I've missed you." He breathed, as he pressed his tongue between her folds. Her knee almost buckled at the touch, so she braced her hands against the edge of the counter.

"Same." She gasped, as he began to methodically kiss, nibble, and lick around her sensitive parts. He was teasing her mercilessly, giving her what she needed, then pulling back. She was so desperate for him to give her the release she had dreamed about for months. Her hand found his curls, tugging them and guiding him to a rhythm.

He relished the signs of her nearing orgasm. The way her toes clenched. The way her voice got raspy, and her breath became unstable. Her hand only left his hair to cover her mouth when the inevitable moans of pleasure took over her better judgment.

Fitz accomplished his mission, licking her up as she came. He rose to her level. He still needed some support, so he put his hands on each side of her on the counter.

"How are you feeling?" He kissed her nose.

"I should be asking you that." She poured a glass of water from the sink and offered it to him. "How are you?"

"I am realistic about my ability to carry you to bed, but I am nowhere near to being done with you."

"I can compromise." Olivia lead him to the bed. She pulled back the covers and looked back at him. "Get naked and get in."

"The days of you babying me are over." Fitz said, even though he pulled his t shirt over his head and sat on the edge.

"I can guarantee you…" Olivia climbed in after he shed his pants, straddling his waist. "That what I am about to do to you is not _babying_." She took his bottom lip between her teeth, making him moan. The graze of her breasts against his chest and his hands firmly grasping her ass were giving them the sexual gratification that was eating them alive for the past months.

Fitz could feel her wetness against his stomach. He firmly gripped her hips, sliding her core down his crotch. She was kissing him like she had been too afraid to the past months. While it was incredibly sexy and arousing, they were past the need for foreplay. She sat up, bunching the covers at her waist. Their eyes locked, each consenting to what was about to happen.

She slowly slid down on his dick, gasping with how amazing it felt. At first, she was slow. Her hips descending as far as they could, then rotating in a pattern and repeating. She was testing him, careful not to overdo it for either of them. The more he took, the more she gave. She increased the pace, until her breasts were bouncing with the motion. It was all almost too much tor him to take. He sat up, not stopping her rhythm. His mouth placed sloppy, open mouthed kisses on her neck, tasting the saltiness from her sweat.

He was close, but stubborn enough to make sure she got her second release before he came. He roughly grabbed one of her breasts, guiding her nipple to his mouth to suck on. She arched her back, throwing her head back in pleasure. She wanted to communicate how great he was making her feel, but all she could get out was broken curses. He guided her hips down on his cock harder and faster until she trembled with that familiar fire in her belly. There was nothing more beautiful than watching the love of his life orgasm while riding him. She was past words or even sounds as her eyes shut and her lips parted. Her breath was as ragged as her trembling thighs as he pumped into her through her climax.

He gripped her thighs, tighter, bucking his hips upwards until he too was succumbing to the waves of pleasure. He fell back against the bed in deep exhaustion. She stayed in position, incredibly still, except for her heaving chest. She finally pulled herself off of him, nestling into his side.

"Fuck." Olivia whispered, stills struggling to find words. Neither made a move to pull the covers up, as they laid there, exposed from the waist up, catching their breath. "Are you okay?" Olivia asked after a moment, looking over at him.

"Yeah." He patted her thigh. "How about you?"

"Don't ever get shot again." Olivia entangled her legs in his. "Because as great as that sex was, I can't go another four months without it."

"Unless I knock you up again." He winked.

" _Not_ funny."

"Can we have that conversation?" His hand roamed along her back.

"Sure, let's have the kids conversation." Olivia propped herself up on her elbow.

"Do you want more kids?" Fitz asked cautiously.

"No."

"Okay, then. No more kids." Fitz chuckled, leaning over to kiss her nose. "I'm pretty damn satisfied with what I've got right now."

"No complaints here, either."

After a moment of silence, Fitz spoke up. "But what about a dog?"

* * *

 **Uh, so, yeah. That is the fanfic. The epilogue will be posted in the next few days, just because I want a chapter where I can deal with an angsty teenage Alex, haha.**

 **Not to keep regurgitating _Thank Yous,_ b** **ut thank you, again for everything. Y'all could have spent your time reading _Great Expectations_ or _Moby Dick_ (which have lower word counts), but y'all chose to read this. I am humbled and grateful for the relationships I have formed on this website. **

**Use the review space to tell me what you liked or didn't like about this story. Even though this is my last fic, any criticism is surely welcomed.**


	29. Epilogue

**This is the Epilogue. Since it takes place 11 years in the future, I am setting it in contemporary times. I know it is a continuity error but trying to create futuristic pop references would have just been distracting. Just bear with it, please, lol.**

* * *

 **11 YEARS LATER**

"Alex, what are you doing here?" Olivia raised her eyebrow as she came through the door of her office. The sound of her daughter's voice led her to Marcus's office. Alex was sitting on the edge of his desk with a book in her hand. Olivia figured it was a part of the miniature library that Marcus and Alex traded off. Marcus loved debating and sharing literature with the budding young activist that Alex was. It reminded him of how he started out. "Shouldn't you be at swim practice?"

"They cancelled it." Alex shrugged. She slid off of Marcus's desk, adjusting her bomber jacket. "I was just returning Assata Shakur's memoir to Marcus. Isn't it insane that they never mentioned COINTELPRO in AP U.S. History?"

"Not really, when you consider that the government determines the publishing companies that receive the grants for the textbooks." Olivia saw through her changing the subject. "Why was practice cancelled?"

"A kid threw up in the pool. It's protocol to empty it." Alex tried to walk past her mother, but Olivia stopped her.

"Then what is the excuse for yesterday? Or the practice before that? Or the practice before that?" Olivia raised her eyebrow. "Is that why I received an email from Coach Connor this afternoon, because you have been MIA for the last 5 practices?"

Alex pursed her lips and rocked back and forth on her heels. She was caught, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"My office. Now." Olivia said, waiting for Alex to go to her office. Once her daughter was down the hall, Olivia sighed and looked back at Marcus. "If you have the free time to aid and abet my daughter, then please tell me you have good news."

"Better than good. I met with our client's legal team, and there is no way that he is personally linked to the data breach. Stock prices may take a dip, but at least we don't have to worry about him wearing an orange jumpsuit for 10-life. Orange isn't his color."

"What about the company? The Department of Justice can still bring down the company."

"If they find someone within the company who pulled the trigger." Marcus grinned, leaning back in his office chair. "Which they won't."

"I hope your confidence actually means something." Olivia admitted. "Because this could blow up and we have no safety net for our client."

"Just worry about his interview prep." Marcus dismissed with a flippant wave of his hand. He leaned back into his desk chair. "And your lying daughter."

"Yeah, thanks." Olivia rolled her eyes.

Wait, where is mini Kobe? I thought you went to pick him up from school."

"He's waiting in the car. He didn't want to come inside. I told him I would only be a moment."

"Well, don't let me keep you. Is there anything else I can do for this case?"

"I'll handle the prep questions. Check in with the rest of the team. I think Abbey could use your help."

Olivia found Alex laying on the couch in her office, engrossed in her phone.

"Why have you been ditching practice?"

"I hate it." Alex mumbled, not looking up.

"Try better."

"It isn't enough for me to hate something?" Alex rolled her eyes, stubbornly fixing her eyes to her phone. "Jesus, mom. I hate practice. I hate swimming. I hate the team. I'm not good at it, and I'm not going to swim in college, so what is the point?"

"You are good at it. You are the best backstroke on the team and at your last meet, Coach Connor told me that she is considering you to be the captain next season."

"That doesn't mean I like it." Alex mumbled.

"Alex, please watch your tone." Olivia said calmly.

Her daughter sighed, tossing her phone to her feet on the couch. Her eyes flashed up to Olivia's. "I hate swim team. I don't know why you are so hell bent on me being on the school's swim team. I get that you were, like, some swim star fifty years ago when you were my age, but that doesn't mean that I have to be."

"Then what?"

"What?"

"If you aren't going to be on swim team, then what are you going to do?"

"Nothing." A shrug.

"Yeah, right." Olivia scoffed. "Colleges won't appreciate you quitting a commitment in your junior year. You already quit symphonic band. The only other things on your transcript are an art club and _New Age Collective_ , which I doubt any admissions officer will understand." New Age Collective was a project started by her friend group. They used art to critique the "system" through activist art. They had social media pages with noteworthy follows, but it was completely ran by her peers of 15-18 years old. While Alex was really a talented artist, Olivia failed to see how it was worth the amount of time she put into it.

"Well, considering that I don't plan on going to college for swimming or playing music written by white men who owned girls who liked me, I don't see why it matters."

"It matters, because you made a commitment."

"Whatever."

"A commitment means that you show up for a promise. It means that you don't leave your coach with the only option of emailing your mother to ask if you were even alive or still enrolled at the school."

"So, what now? Are you going to take my phone away? Maybe my car. Then you can chauffer me to practice every day to make sure that I am there like you did when I was on the Junior Fins team."

"Alex, watch your tone."

"You can't force me. I'm almost grown."

"Emphasis on the _almost_."

Alex rolled her eyes. "So in 14 months, my frontal cortex has suddenly developed enough to make my own decisions? Until then, I guess I'm your prisoner."

"Where have you been these past practices?"

"In the studio."

"What were you working on?"

"Geez, Mom, can you not nag about every detail about my life?"

"Sorry, but that is my job." Olivia raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

"A sculpture."

"Of?"

"Capitalism's damaging effects on the psychophysical soul."

Olivia took in her explanation. "Sounds interesting. It also sounds like something that can be accomplished in the three hours you spend a week in Art Club. Unless it falls more under the New Age Collective, then you could fit it into that time slot."

"What do you want from me?"

"Show that you have an ounce of commitment in yourself." Olivia said, then immediately regretted her harsh tone. She took a deep breath, speaking in a much softer tone. "Do you really want to quit swim team?"

"Yes."

"Then go to practice tomorrow and apologize to your team mates. Apologize to Coach Connor. Explain why you were too scared to face her from the start, and requiring her to reach out to me, embarrassing us both."

"Really?" Alex was honestly shocked that her mother was letting her quit something she was forced to do for the last 9 years of her life. _Forced_ was a strong word. Alex genuinely loved swimming at first. But in the last year or so of high school swim team, she grew to despise it. Her classmates on the team were not her social crowd, and she failed to see the long-term point of it.

"Consider it a lesson in gracefully exiting a commitment."

"Cool." Alex smirked. "Thanks, Mom—"

"Then I want you to get a job."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"I don't want a job."

"You want to pretend that you are grown? Welcome to being grown. Doing stuff you don't want to."

"So you want me to work at, like, McDonalds to teach me a lesson? All because I don't want to put on some polyester spandex death suit and jump into a chemical filled cesspool of pee for four hours a week?"

"I want you to learn some responsibility."

"I can't believe this." Alex exclaimed.

"Your attitude is proving my point." Olivia sighed. "I worked my way through high school, and it didn't kill me. I also didn't have to flip burgers."

"Fine." She began to stalk away. "I'll get a freaking job."

"Since you are free this afternoon, go get Thomas from the car. You can watch him until I come home for dinner."

"Mom…" Alex protested.

"Consider it your first job." Olivia smirked.

"Does that mean I get paid?"

"Minimum wage." Olivia agreed. "Consider it a bonding experience."

"Whatever."

"If you need any help with your resume, let me know." Olivia called out in good nature as her moody daughter stomped out of the office.

/

That evening, when Olivia finally got home from work, she found Thomas in his room playing video games and Alex with her door locked listening to her music a little too loud.

Olivia was going to start dinner, but she was missing some ingredients. She texted Fitz to make a stop at the store on his way home from work. Until then, she had some more work to finish, so she decided to tackle it all from the comfort of her couch and an early glass of red wine.

"Sorry I took so long. The store was packed." Fitz said once he entered the townhome with his arms full of bags.

"Forgiven." Olivia joined him in the kitchen to help him unload the groceries. "I figured that it would be with Thanksgivings next week."

"I saw Alex's car in the driveway, and I can hear Call of Duty from here, so I assume they are both home."

"In their rooms." Olivia nodded.

"I assume that you talked to Alex?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"Let's just say that you are the golden parent in her eyes." Olivia chuckled, putting the produce in a drawer in the fridge. "She is quitting the team, but I told her to get a job to replace it."

"Ouch. How did she take it?"

"Not well, but that is her stubbornness."

"I wonder where she gets it from."

"You should be wondering how she got so spoiled." Olivia raised her eyebrows at him. Fitz was notorious for bending to Alex's wide, chocolate eyes.

"Hey, there was like three months of her infancy that I was not there for. You must have instilled something in her then."

"It's a thrill being the fun parent, isn't it?"

"Do you want me to talk to her?" He put the last of the groceries away, leaving what was needed for dinner on the counter.

"Nah, I think I covered all of the grounds." Olivia tossed the bags under the sink to be reused later. "I'll follow up with her in 3 business days to see how many resumes she has handed out."

"How was work?" Fitz leaned against the counter and pulled her body against his. He kissed her softly, urging a response from her lips with his hands roaming her waist.

"Do you want me to answer that? Or do you want me to kiss you?" Olivia chuckled, pulling back only enough to raise her eyebrow at him.

"I'm not picky."

"It was boring."

"At OPA? You must be hiding something." He joked.

"It's the usual prep for _in case_ something blows up, but we won't know until it actually does." She chuckled. "How was your day?"

"I was paid a visit by Broughton in my office."

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows. Dr. Broughton was the CEO of the entire hospital. A visit from him meant either really great news or terrible news. By Fitz's body language, it couldn't have been too positive.

"They want to honor me at the annual gala next month." Fitz grimaced.

"That's good, right?" Olivia was concerned. "Why isn't that good?"

"It's just some pomp and circumstance." He dismissed. "I mean, it is going to include a couple of speeches from my colleagues about how great I am."

"Why aren't you excited." She laughed softly. "You love your ego being stroked." She leaned into him, rubbing against his crotch innocently enough, but enough to change the meaning of her words.

"I love my _ego_ being stroked by my wife. Not the entire hospital." He sighed. "It will probably entail some nostalgia about the shooting over a decade ago."

Olivia knew what he meant. Ever since he returned to his position after the shooting, people treated him like a god. In her eyes, he was. But he hated it. He just wanted to be the best department head he could – not some martyr to his employees. After a few years, it had faded, but his name still carried a legend status around the halls of James Madison. "I'm sure it won't be that bad." She leaned on her tip toes to kiss the corner of his mouth.

"It is all just theatrics." He mumbled against her lips

"Well at least you have one thing to look forward to…" She pulled back. "I was fitted for my dress for it this morning."

"It isn't until March."

"I know. But there is this new designer out of New York that is in town this week. I wanted to just try some of her dresses on, but she had a specific one in mind for me. It stuck." It was her 16th appearance at this annual fundraising gala. Every year, she never let him see the dress until the day of, once it was on her.

"And?" His interest was piqued.

"It has some cutouts."

"Where?"

"That is all that you get."

"Come on…" He let his hand roam over her waist. "Blink twice if my hand touches an exposed area."

Olivia entertained his hand roaming over her body, in part because she needed his touch after a long day, but also because she couldn't wait until he was disappointed to find her never blinking. His hand maneuvered from her waist to her stomach, then up her breasts. She was about to give in and double blink once his hand reached the crevice between her breasts, but Thomas came down the stairs, looking for a snack.

Fitz immediately withdrew his hand and resumed what was acceptable from two parents in front of their pre-teen son. "Hey, bud."

"Hey, Dad."

"How was school?"

Thomas shrugged, disinterested in them. He went to the pantry and pulled out a banana, before retreating to his friends waiting in their cyber-warfare battle.

"So it went well?" Fitz chuckled, once Thomas was back in his room.

"His shrug was middle-school-boy-language for getting an A on his math test."

"Thanks for the translation."

Olivia leaned into him with a sigh, just enjoying his arms around her. As much as they joked about their frustrating kids, they were genuinely good kids. Thomas was still in the awkward cusp of puberty, but he was a player in the making. He was on his third girlfriend of middle school. While Olivia knew that most middle school relationships had a life expectancy of a month, his bright blue Fitz eyes and curly hair set him up for a long career of creating broken hearts. Aside from a two year beau in her underclassmen career in high school, Alex was pretty unbothered by boys – or girls if that was her preference. She was gorgeous, gliding through her awkward teen years with minimal damage, but not interested in the futile young romances. As she put it: "None of them are worth my time. They don't add to my energy."

"Dinner?" Fitz asked, pulling Olivia from her thoughts. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

"We still need to pry a final list of colleges that Alex wants to tour over spring break, so that we can make plans. Which would you rather do?"

"Dinner, but I don't think that you should be the one to confront Alex about her future."

"Touché." Olivia chuckled. "I'll start dinner."

/

Fitz waved Olivia down from his spot in the bleachers. He saved her a seat for Thomas's basketball game.

"Sorry I'm late." Fitz kissed her cheek as she took a seat next to him.

"You aren't too late. They just tipped off."

Olivia scanned the young boys on the court, before finding Thomas on the sidelines. At least she hadn't missed any playing time.

"Have you heard from Jerry about Christmas?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah." Fitz said. "I gave him the itinerary. He'll take the kids to Mellie's before bringing them over for Christmas dinner."

Olivia frowned. "Is Alyssa going to join him?"

Fitz shrugged. "He said yes, but it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't." After Jerry came back from Thailand, he completed med school, and became a practicing surgeon. A couple of years into his residency, he married fellow doctor named Alyssa and started a family. Fitz couldn't bring himself to say the word _grand kids_ , but they had two daughters together, back to back. Only after the second girl was born, their marriage deteriorated. Jerry rarely opened up to Fitz, but he got the idea that their careers never allowed any romance left. So now, they were just getting by, mainly for the kids. Fitz didn't see them getting a divorce any time soon, but he did wish that his son had better luck with love.

"Well, I talked to Karen yesterday. They decided on driving since the airports will be so busy over the holidays."

"And I-95 will be so much better." Fitz chuckled sarcastically. "She just doesn't want to pay for Christmas week airfare."

"I figured that much. Which is why I offered to fly them in, but she refused it."

"As long as she's here." Fitz paused making ahead count of everybody to prepare for. It made him so happy to have his entire, multi-generational family together for the holidays. He knew that Olivia would inevitably be stressed out. He had to remind himself that she never had a big family, so it was overwhelming to have so many people about. But she understood how important it was to him and adjusted herself to it.

"Didn't Alex say she was going to try to make it?"

"She also said that she was going to unload the dishwasher before going to bed last night." Olivia chuckled. "She's probably in the studio working on her sculpture."

"Oh, that reminds me." Fitz reached into his pocket to pull out a folded piece of notebook paper. "This is her list."

Olivia scanned the list of colleges scrawled in Alex's sloppy cursive with a frown.

"What?"

"This is what she came up with?"

"Just be glad that she made a decision."

"I will be glad when there is an actual college on here."

"All of them are accredited."

"All of them are art schools with no other programs other than art… Cal Arts. Hunter. Cranbrook. SCAD. A bunch of Art Institutes with _fill-in-the-blank_ city."

Fitz chuckled. "So she isn't going to be a lawyer or doctor like her parents. I still have hope that Thomas will pull his Science grade up into Doctor material."

"Ha ha." Olivia said dryly. "She does know that non-art schools have art programs, right? Columbia. Yale. UCLA…"

"UCLA could get on one knee in front of her and she wouldn't accept. The thought of following into her father's footsteps would be…" Fitz shivered in jest. "Conformity."

"Three cheers for teenage rebellion."

"The way I see it, is that we can knock out all of the East Coast schools over spring break. Cranbrook is a stretch, since it is all the way over in Detroit, but the rest are on a clean path from Maryland to Boston. We can save the rest for the summer."

"Am I crazy?" Olivia sighed.

"That depends on who you ask." Fitz chuckled.

"Be honest." Olivia requested. "Am I a terrible mother for wanting her to have options or a back up in case she decides that art isn't for her once she gets into the real world?"

"Terrible mother? No. Crazy? Debatable."

"I'm serious."

"So am I. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I was 17. Neither did most of my friends. Luckily, I found my path, but many of them didn't and wasted time in the typical collegiate existential crisis. You should be glad that she is so set in her mind and passionate about something."

"I knew what I wanted to be, and it worked out for me—"

"Exactly."

"—Only because I knew that what I did had to sustain me and be practical. It is like she has no grasp on what will happen in five years when she graduates college and has to support herself."

"Livvie…" Fitz slipped his fingers into hers, pulling her hand into his lap. "If you try to tell her that her goal of being an artist is not valid, then she will only double down on it. You have to let her fly and catch her when her wings get too close to the sun… _Or_ watch proudly as she soars to new heights."

"How did you get so wise?"

"Remember Karen? I tried _so hard_ to keep her from pursuing acting." He smiled. "Look at her now."

He had a point. After finally graduating from NYU, Karen earned many small, understudy jobs on Broadway shows. It took a couple of years until she landed the lead in an underdog musical that exploded into a nation-wide frenzy. Her Instagram following skyrocketed into the millions over the course of a year. Her fame led to movie and television offers, but it proved too much stress on her relationship with Mia. Once her tenure on the stage ended, she rejected all offers and now successfully ran an arts non-profit in Queens.

"You are right." Olivia sighed. "I'm still going to talk with her."

"Oh, look. They are putting him in." Fitz nodded to the basketball court where Thomas was summoned into the game by his coach. He was taller than most of his teammates by a couple of inches, so it wasn't hard to spot him amongst his peers. Yet to build any muscle on his lanky frame, Thomas Grant patiently waited for his teammate to pass him the ball. He dribbled halfway down the court until he stopped a couple of paces from the three-point J.

"Come on…" Olivia begged in a low voice. "He needs to fake it, then dribble away from his defender for the three."

As if she was in his head, he faked a pass to his teammate and ditched the determined defender. It was two long, stretching steps to the side before he tipped his toes to the line and shot a perfect 3 point swisher.

" _Yes_." Olivia cheered. "Did I not just call that?"

"You did." Fitz laughed at the sight of his awkward son mimicked the cocky poses of NBA players, relishing high fives of his teammates. The referee signaled a two point increase, and the score board reflected that. "Oh, come on." Fitz protested loudly, standing up from his seat.

"His foot crossed the line." A parent from the opposing team quipped. "It was clear as day."

"Show me the instant replay." Fitz countered. "That was worth a three and those refs know it."

"Calm down, Lavar Ball." The parent responded. It didn't take a detective to deduce that #12 on the court belonged to the only interracial couple in the bleachers. "This isn't the NBA."

Olivia couldn't help but laugh at the exchange, as she took Fitz's hand and guided him back to his seat. The next play started and Thomas was back in the game, not concerned with the docked point. He just shot a baller shot, and he could care less about the points. "They are leading by 12 points with five minutes left. It doesn't matter."

"The fact that you turn your back to injustice is worrisome." Fitz joked, lightheartedly.

/

"We missed you at Thomas's game." Olivia said as she sat on the edge of Alex's bed.

"I had to finish an essay." Alex said, ignoring her mother's intrusion into her room. If there was one thing she made sure that her mother never had to nag her about, it was her grades. Her 4.0 was impenetrable, no matter how many AP classes her counselor threw at her. She not only tested well, but was _really_ intelligent. Even though Alex would never admit to her mother, her bookshelves were lined with everything from Baldwin to Nietzsche. Her spotify was full of podcasts and poetry albums.

"Alex…" Olivia said, waiting for Alex to give her full attention.

"What?" She sighed, looking up from her computer screen.

"Have you talked to Coach Connor?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And, what? I quit. I took responsibility, or whatever."

"So how is the job search going?" Olivia knew that it was only three days since she gave her the ultimatum, but she wanted to apply the pressure now, so that Alex didn't think that she would simply forget.

"I actually have an offer." Alex smirked, not looking up from her computer screen.

"Really? That's great. Where is it?"

"Jayce's uncle owns an art gallery. I'm going to be the receptionist."

"Where is it?"

"H Street NE."

"I will have to check it out." Olivia said cautiously. That neighborhood had the reputation of being a punk/hippie cesspool. A couple years ago, OPA found a client's daughter who had gone missing on a drug induced bender in an alley by there.

"Come on. The uppity whites have gentrified it enough so that if any suspicious character – aka: a dark skinned brother – as much as wears a hoodie, he will be surveilled. I'm safe. There is even a Starbucks next door."

"Fine." Olivia couldn't pick a fight over any of that. "I am happy that you found something. When do you start?"

"Monday."

"I'm proud of you."

"Okay." Alex continued to type into her laptop at such a pace that Olivia wondered if she was even writing an essay.

"I saw your lists of colleges." Olivia began, hoping to pull Alex away from her computer screen and into a real conversation.

"Okay."

"Which one is your top choice?"

"Cal Arts."

"Why?" Olivia's tone wasn't accusatory or harsh. It was curious. She was attempting to meet Alex halfway. She may not approve of her choices, but she had to respect them… And try to understand them. After all, it would be Alex's college decision to go where she wanted. Olivia couldn't stop her.

"Do you remember Anne? Who graduated last year?"

"Yeah." Olivia remembered Alex's upper classman friend who was constantly at their house, chilling with Alex. Anne was polite and intelligent. It was one of the few friends of Alex's that she really liked.

"She's there right now for studio art. I don't know… The things she tells me… It sounds dope. They really aren't afraid of making art political out there."

"In what ways?" Olivia asked. "Tell me more about their programs."

"They really give the freedom to the artist, instead of subjecting the student to outdated criteria of what is 'good art.'" Alex opened up, a little bit.

Olivia appreciated it. She longed for the young Alex that was excited to share her thoughts on everything. Somewhere around high school, Alex stopped communicating with her. She shut her out of what was going on in that complicated teenage mind of hers.

"I know that you don't want me to pursue art. You look at my sculptures and paintings and see a hobby, not a career. You don't trust that I can make anything more than an after school club or youth-led social media movement. I get it, really, I understand. The fine art industry is rigged to favor connections over actual art. Which is why I want to study at a place that prioritizes creativity over industry." Alex shut her laptop and pushed it to the side of her queen sized bed. "But you have to trust me on this."

"I do trust you." Olivia admitted. "I look at your art and see stuff that I can't even understand. Which is a good thing, because it means that you are thinking out of boxes that my generation set."

Alex nodded, taking her mother's words into thought. "You don't understand my meaning."

"What do you mean, by _your meaning_?" Olivia asked, curiously.

"Tell me about my father." Alex challenged.

"Your father is two doors away." Olivia chuckled. "Should I ask him in here to give you an autobiography?"

"No, my biological father."

Olivia knew what she meant. Alex was never really concerned with Jake's story growing up. She was completely aware that Fitz was her adoptive father. She knew that Fitz was her father in every way that mattered. He raised her, and for that, Alex never felt like she was missing anything from her life. That was, until recently. Alex caught Olivia off guard one day when it was just the two of them. Olivia didn't necessarily _lie_ , but she didn't divulge the full story of Jake's role in her life. Just that they were married young and she quickly became pregnant with Alex. He died in a car crash that caused Alex to be born early. That was it. A couple of months ago, Olivia caught Alex googling him on her computer. She accidentally left pictures of his funeral from the press on her browser.

Olivia briefly scrolled the pictures, feeling a pang of sadness in her gut. There she was, still banged up from the car crash. Alex was shielded in a grey blanket, held tightly in her arms. Olivia barely remembered that day. It was a blur of trying to hold it together as the President and other important people paid their respects. The last picture she saw was one of her bowing her head to his casket. Almost seventeen years later, she didn't even know how to process the picture. At the time, she was genuinely bereaved – her husband had died and left her with a newborn baby that she wasn't even sure if she loved. But those emotions were clouded by the betrayal she later unearthed around Jake's role in her life. But despite it all, she wasn't sad or even angry. Time had healed all wounds. Her father was dead. If Jake was a plant by her father, then so be it. He gave her the beautiful daughter in front of her, so she couldn't be angry.

"Jake was my first husband." Olivia could never bring herself to admit that Jake was Alex's biological father, no matter how true it was. She would always refer to him as _Jake_ and never _your father_. "I met him my final year at law school and married him when I married him. You came shortly after, but he died in a car crash that put me into labor."

"Why was he a Captain in the Navy? At so young?"

"He went on some important missions overseas. He ended up serving alongside a President before that president was president. He was promoted because of that." Olivia wasn't even sure if that was true. At the time, she didn't question why a man with less than five years of active duty military service had a cozy desk job reserved for men with four times his experience. In retrospect, it was probably all fabricated by her father as some master plan.

"You don't have any pictures of him in the house. Not even in a shoe box tucked away somewhere. I know, because I found that shoe box and the only pictures you have are of your mother. Not even your father – which is a separate issue. You don't talk about him. You don't visit his grave in Arlington. You act like he never existed." Alex squinted. "Was he abusive? Why do you put so much effort into pretending he never existed?"

"He wasn't abusive." Olivia said. "There just isn't any point of dwelling on the past."

"Why did you change my name?"

"What?"

"I was born Alexandria Ballard Pope. You had my birth certificate changed before my first birthday to drop the Ballard. Why?"

That, Olivia couldn't answer. She ran different angles through her mind, trying to find one that would make sense without having to explain B6-13, her father, and Jake's true story, but she couldn't think of anything.

"Why are you lying to me?" Alex asked.

"I'm not lying."

"You aren't telling me the whole story."

"It's complicated."

"Does it have to do with B6-13?"

"Excuse me?" Olivia's breath was sucked away. Those were words that she prayed she would never hear again.

"Karen told me that you and dad got into a fight before you married each other. She said that she didn't know what the fight was over, but based on how Dad was acting, it had to be pretty bad. Apparently, you showed up at their house Christmas morning, and she overheard you two in the kitchen making up. She said it was something about the CIA, FBI, President's office, and a _B6-13_ , whatever that was. I googled it, and nothing came up. So I asked Marcus, and I've never seen anybody act so strange. He asked me what you told me about it, and when I said you hadn't mentioned it, he told me to keep it that way. I put it down on a timeline – Karen helped me out some, since obviously my memory wasn't developed at that time. When I was four months old, you changed my name. You had barely started seeing Dad, so I don't think it had anything to do with him. A couple of months later on Thanksgivings Day, a bomb goes off downtown killing your employee, Harrison Wright."

Olivia winced at the mention of his name. That was one wound that time couldn't heal. She still missed her brother.

"Information around that bombing is confidential, but I think that it is safe to assume that with your line of work, Harrison wasn't in that bar for a Thanksgivings Day pre-game. He was there on behalf of your firm for some reason. He wasn't the only casualty that day. There were 7 people killed that day. Harrison, the bomber, the bartender, two other patrons whose families claimed them, and two others that had no families claim them or names published. I also found that Eli Pope – your father, who you said died shortly after your mother died, which is another lie – was buried in a small cemetery in Virginia the same day as Harrison. A month later, you have your reconciliation with Dad. A week later, you hire Marcus. I honestly don't know the whole story, I just have these small facts. Call me crazy, but I think it has something to do with my biological father."

"Alex…" Olivia didn't know how to respond to the tidal wave of information she just received.

"All I want is the truth… If you can't give me that, then leave my room, and I will keep digging."

"Okay." Olivia shifted on Alex's bed so that her legs were crossed. "If you want me to tell you the truth, then you can't tell any of this to anyone. You can't overreact."

"Okay." Alex nodded, seriously.

"You know that my mother – your grandmother – died when I was young. You know that your grandfather disappeared from my life days after her death. I told you that he died, because he might as well have. As far as I was concerned, he was. It wasn't until you were born that he came back into my life. In the late 1970s, he built an organization known as B6-13 from the ground into an unstoppable, uncheckable organization operating outside of the three branches of government. B6-13 was created to stop any threats to the Republic that the traditional channels could not anticipate. He had to disappear from my life to preserve the organization and run it from the underground. Once I was grown, he planted Jake in my life as a way to not only keep tabs on me, but ensure that my business wouldn't discover B6-13 or interfere with their operations."

"So Jake was an agent?"

"Yes. He was supposed to take over once my father retired."

"Was he killed because of his involvement?"

"My father killed him intentionally through the car crash, because of other issues. The bombing that killed Harrison was under surveillance of B6-13. The entire thing went south, killing my father, who was running point on it."

"So what happened afterwards? To B6-13?"

"He intended for me to take over the organization. I was his heir, whether I wanted to be or not. So I took over. I thought that I could turn it around… That I could run it in an ethical and moral way that served the republic, but didn't shred the constitution. Then I realized that the dark side of what he did – what the organization stood for – was not worth losing you or your father, losing _you_. So I dissembled it and handed the assets over to the Executive branch."

"And that is why you and Dad were fighting?"

"Yes." Olivia watched Alex closely, waiting for some type of reaction. Alex set her laptop to the side and wrapped her arms around Olivia's neck, surprising her. She held her daughter close, at the surprising show of emotion.

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Alex couldn't stop the emotion bubbling into tears. Olivia could feel Alex's chest heave as she tried to control her emotions.

"I didn't tell you, because I wanted to protect you. By the time you came of age, this was all ancient history. I didn't see the point." Olivia whispered into Alex's shoulder.

"Okay." Alex mumbled, tightening her hug around her mother.

Olivia held her for a couple of meaningful minutes of silence. When she felt Alex retreat, she let her pull back. "What your father did… Who he was… Is nothing compared to what he gave me, which is you." Olivia wiped a tear from Alex's cheek with her thumb.

"You asked me about _my meaning_." Alex said after using her sleeve to wipe her nose "My _meaning_ is to make sure that stuff like this never happens again."

"What do you mean?"

"I am sure that B6-13 did some meaningful and necessary things. I am not too naïve to assume that everything kept from the American public is sinister. But the fact that an organization like that existed – the fact that we are fed this BS in school about democracy and checks and balances – it isn't right. If I have a chance to change this, then I will. And maybe you don't see art as a viable channel, but it is all that I have."

"It isn't that I don't see your art as valid, but I don't see it as the answer to your future." Olivia admitted.

"You want me to follow a path within the system. Law school, med school, PR, education, social work, whatever… I can't do that. I need to study in a space that allows me to critique the system, without being a part of it. I mean, Angela Davis said that, 'We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.' A truly democratic process should revolve around the people and not a corrupt system that benefits off of the backs of brown and black folks for the pure goal of profit. Think about Black Lives Matter, the gun debate led by the survivors of Parkland… I want to be an initiator of _that_ kind of change. A change that is led by people, and not politicians with pockets lined by special interests."

Olivia listened to her monologue and took it all to heart. "So…" She began. "Based off of your list, would you rather visit one school in California, or five on the East Coast over Spring Break?"

"Cal Arts." Alex answered quickly. "Wait… Am I actually going to visit over Spring Break?"

"If that is what you want."

"Eeek!" Alex squealed. "I'll message Anne right now to let her know that I'm coming."

Olivia stood to leave her room, but paused. "I'm sorry that you had to find out about all of this… like this."

"I know."

Olivia nodded and quickly left her room, before Alex could see the new round of tears spring in her eyes. She quickly checked the knot of emotion rising in her throat before she returned to her bedroom to Fitz.

"Well?" Fitz asked as she sat on the edge of their bed. He immediately started examining her hair, like a chimpanzee searching for ants.

"What? Stop." Olivia shoved him off of her.

"I was searching for any grey hairs that she caused in the last thirty minutes."

"Asshole. I'm not like you." She ran her fingers through the grey hairs peppering his head. "And it went well. Tomorrow, I will book a flight to LAX for her to visit Cal Arts."

"Really?" Fitz raised his eyebrows in shock.

"Really. We had a good talk." Olivia admitted with an unescapable smile on her lips.

"The silver lining in the conundrum of teenage angst and motherly disapproval."

"She knows about B6-13."

"What?" Fitz raised his eyebrows.

"She put two and two… and two and two together. She asked around to Marcus, Karen, and did her research. She confronted me about it."

"And?"

"And I told her the truth." Olivia sighed. "We had an honest, heart-felt conversation."

"Wow." Fitz said, stunned. "How did she take it?"

"Incredibly well. She wasn't angry or shocked. She honestly handled it better than I did, when I found out."

"It's a lot to take in." Fitz commented. "Funny how distant it all seems now."

"I understand why she is so dead set on art school." Olivia admitted. "Do I still wish that she would consider more practical majors? Absolutely. But I have to support this."

"Wow. The master manipulator gets manipulated."

"Don't say it like that."

"I know, I know. I'm just teasing you… I'm trying to wrap my mind around it… But I'm happy that you two worked it out."

"Well I'm happy that it is only 9pm, and I have no other mountains to scale for the evening." Olivia sighed, falling back into the bed.

"Is that an invitation?" Fitz smirked, kissing the corner of her lips and then her jaw.

"It is whatever you want it to be, before these tired bones pass out in an hour." Olivia taunted, intentionally shifting her thigh to cross his crotch.

"Challenge…" Fitz kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear, down to her shoulder. "… Accepted."

/

 **CHRISTMAS MORNING**

Fitz woke up first. They had a late night of watching Christmas movies and hot chocolate until everyone eventually drifted off to their beds to sleep. It was still early, but late enough for him to appreciate that no child was going to come pouncing on their bed. Thomas was a couple of years past believing in Santa Claus, which meant that opening presents had moved from an impatient 7am to a more palatable 10am.

It was 7:28.

He looked at his wife of fourteen years. She must have gotten cold in the night, because she was as snuggled into him as possible. She had one of her legs wrapped around his waist, and her head was resting on his chest. He slowly shifted her head onto his pillow. He didn't want to wake her. Well, he was about to wake her, but he had a plan.

He brushed his lips against hers, just barely touching. His breath tickled her cheek, making her mumble something in her sleep. He kissed her cheek and then her shoulder, this time fully pressing his lips against her skin. She was slowly waking up – that beautiful transition from peace to consciousness. He kissed her neck, his fingers finding the entrance between her pajama top and bottoms.

Now she was awake. Olivia sighed heavily, bringing her hand to his hair.

"Good morning, Livvie."

"Good morning, love." She whispered. Shifting her hips, she made room for him between her legs. Even though they were sleepy, the feeling of his body pressed between her thighs turned her on. She craned her neck to kiss him, tongues lazily sliding against each other. It was still freezing on that Christmas morning, so Olivia pulled the covers tightly around them.

"Are you cold?" Fitz chuckled, kissing her neck.

"Bah humbug." Olivia mumbled, reaching down into the cocoon of body heat they had created, and pulling his hips put more pressure against the apex of her thighs. Fitz disappeared under the covers, and she couldn't help but laugh as he kissed down her clothed torso. When he reached her pajama bottoms, he pulled them off, along with her underwear.

"Fitz…" Olivia moaned as he kissed tenderly along her thighs. Her pussy tightened in anticipation as he inched closer. Even after over a decade of marriage, this man had talents that Olivia couldn't begin to describe. He fucked her with nothing but his tongue and strategic teeth. When that familiar tingle boiled up from her stomach, and her thighs tightened around his shoulders, he surprised her with two fingers curling inwards. He had no idea why her orgasm was silent, but he didn't need her throaty moans to know that she came. It was all in her trembling thighs and ragged breaths.

He crawled back up from under the covers to see that Olivia had muffled her face with a pillow to stay quiet. He tugged the pillow off to reveal her grinning with a satisfied look on her face.

"Hi."

"Merry Christmas." She pulled his lips to hers. His chin was glistening with the evidence of her orgasm. He tasted like her. He wanted her. She used her toes to hook around his pajama pants, pulling them down to his ankles. She smirked at the feeling of his erect cock springing against her thigh. She reached down to palm his member, teasing his tip with her entrance. Her arousal was dripping onto him, and Fitz was about to lose control and pin her to the bed, when they heard a noise. Barely audible, the sounds of someone else in the house waking up and leaving their room notified them that they were no longer alone.

"The door isn't locked, is it?" Olivia whispered.

Fitz shook his head. He sighed when Olivia slid out from under him. So much for morning Christmas sex. He half expected Olivia to find her robe and go see who was awake, but instead, she turned the lock on the door. She sat on the edge of the bed, hooking up the speaker to play Christmas music soft enough to not wake anybody up, but loud enough to stop anybody from hearing what she was about to do to him.

"Where were we?" She asked innocently, as if she didn't notice his pleasantly surprised face.

"I love you so much right now." He pulled her back to the top of the bed, sucking her bottom lip in between his. It was incredibly reckless, what they were doing. They had a house full of family, and any one of them could come knocking on their door. But judging by the way she woke up, she must have been dreaming about something good.

Olivia was still cold, so she pulled the covers over them, kissing Fitz's neck. Thank God he didn't wear a shirt to sleep in, as it meant one less article of clothing to remove. She slid his pants down until she felt his erection spring against her thigh. Fitz knew her well enough to keep her shirt on, because she was cold, but that didn't stop him from roughly massaging her perked nipples through her the thin silk fabric.

 _I don't want a lot for Christmas_

Fitz lined himself up with her folds, teasing her flesh with his tip.

 _There is just one thing I need_

Olivia bit her lip in anticipation, her eyes locked with him. She gave him the slight nod.

 _And I don't care about the presents_

He thrust in at a pace that surprised them both. Olivia arched her back, taking as much of him as possible. An unstoppable moan escaped her lips as she processed the pain. Her fingernails dug into his hair.

 _Underneath the Christmas tree_

Fitz recovered from the initial pleasure, finding his pace in her. They found a balance in restrain and danger, teasing the line that kept the sex safe from exposing them to the full house and what was unstoppable lust.

 _I don't need to hang my stocking_

"Fuck." Olivia mumbled, biting into his shoulder to stop any noise.

Fitz unexpectedly pulled out, flipping her over onto her stomach. Olivia was low key grateful for this, because her pillow provided a way better muffler than her own self-control. He gripped her ass hard with his spread fingers, pounding into her.

His breath was hot by her ear as he mumbled dirty things to her. It wasn't long before he made her orgasm, following closely after. He pulled out, collapsing face down next to her. They both propped their heads up on the pillows to face each other.

"Should we go see who is up?" Fitz asked.

"I'm in no rush." Olivia said, rotating to her side. "They'll knock when they are ready for us."

They laid there with nothing but the Christmas music playing. "What are you thinking about?" Olivia asked after a couple of minutes.

"Our first Christmas together." He smiled. He flipped to his back and pulled her into a cuddling position. "Do you remember it?" He mumble into her hair.

"I remember that god awful reindeer suit you and Karen made Alex wear."

Fitz chuckles vibrated his chest. "I remember you showing up at six in the morning. You were terrified & tired & anxious to talk to me."

"I remember." Olivia said softly, bringing up old memories. That was the morning she chose Fitz over B613. That was the morning she stopped being scared of what it meant to open up and love someone again.

"After we talked, I gave you the ring." He held up her hand with her wedding ring. Once, a promise ring before they repurposed it.

"Doux Bebe." Olivia whispered.

"And I remember thinking, ' _Holy shit. I'm in this now_.'"

"That's what I thought too."

An impatient staccato sounded from their bedroom door.

"Mom. Dad. Can we open presents now?" Thomas asked from the other side.

"That's our cue." Olivia whispered.

/

"We should be getting home before they fall asleep and I have to carry them home." Jerry said, kissing Olivia on the cheek and shaking Fitz's hand. "Merry Christmas."

"Drive safe. There's ice on the roads." Olivia said, showing them out. They watched Jerry and his wife help their kids into their seats and pull out onto the road.

"They seemed to be doing okay." Fitz said to her.

"I think that they will be fine." Olivia hoped. "Just rough patches in a young marriage."

"Thank god we never had any of those." Fitz joked, earning an elbow the ribs as they walked back into the house. Olivia began to clean up everybody's dinner plates, putting the leftover food into tupperwares. Fitz refilled her glass of wine and pitched in.

"Tonight went well." Olivia admitted, gathering the silverware from the table.

"It was nice to have the family together for the evening." Fitz nodded, feeling a deep and warm contentment. Olivia began to scrub a non-dish-washable plate, but Fitz stopped her, turning the water off and gently taking her wrists in his hands. "Don't worry about this. It can wait until the morning."

"Okay." Olivia didn't protest. He dried her hands and replaced the dish towel with her wine glass. He waited until she took a sip for him to kiss her gently, sucking the remaining red liquid off of her lips. She sighed into his kiss, pushing up on her toes to lessen any spaced between them. His tongue sliding against hers made her almost forget that they still had company in the house.

"Wohooo! Yesss." Thomas's triumphant celebration pulled them apart. For Christmas, he got the latest update of NBA 2K, and had been playing it ever since he was excused from the dinner table.

"Muy Bueno, muy Bueno." Mia laughed as she accepted another defeat. Thomas quipped some colloquial Spanish at her. Olivia went to check on them and found Karen and Alex missing.

"Where's Alex?" Olivia asked.

"They went for a walk a couple of minutes ago." Mia said, gearing up for another match against Thomas.

Olivia thought that was odd, because it was freezing outside. It was expected to snow heavily that night, and no sane minded person would want to be outside in the cold. She peeked her head out of the front door and was hit with a strong odor. It didn't take long for her to find her stepdaughter and daughter leaning against the side of the house.

"What's going on out here?" Olivia asked.

"Oh shit." Karen's goofy smile didn't fade as she realized that they were caught red handed with a joint in hand. She knew that Olivia and Fitz were aware of her partaking habits, but she forgot that Alex was still only 16.

"Alex are you out of your mind?" Olivia's voice was calm, but terrifying.

"It's legal." Alex defended.

"Yeah, in five years."

"Four." Alex corrected. "I turn 17 in a couple of weeks."

"My point exactly." Olivia crossed her arms. "You are still a minor. What if a cop walked by?"

"This is Georgetown." Alex rolled her eyes. "No cop gives a crap about a teenager in an affluent neighborhood with a joint. If this was South East D.C…"

"Get inside." Olivia said, not interested in hearing her daughter justify it. Alex was right, and Olivia knew it, but that didn't mean she was going to condone it.

"I didn't smoke any of it." Alex shrugged. Olivia knew that was true, because Alex didn't seem the slightest bit high. She seemed completely relaxed, which meant that she wasn't paranoid or embarrassed about being high in the presence of her mother. "But even if I did puff puff pass… I now know things about you mom. You are in no position to judge" She winked, skipping back to the house.

"Karen. Elizabeth. Grant—"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Karen begged. "I let it slip, I didn't realize that she didn't know."

"You do realize that 15 years ago, when I saved your ass from your parents, the main condition was that you would never tell Alex when she got older that I smoked weed with my step-daughter on her graduation night."

"If it makes you feel better, she already suspected it. That you smoked, I mean. I asked her if you would mind that I lit up out here, and she said no. She seemed pretty sure that you were a stoner back in the day as well."

Olivia leaned against the side of the house, just like Alex was. She glanced around the corner to make sure that nobody was going to come out and look for them. She reached forward and took the joint from Karen, taking a quick, but deep hit. "You are such a bad influence." She said through the smoke.

"You should let Alex spend the weekend with me up in the city. I could use her help with the set design for our community theater production. We are doing RENT, and we are horribly behind on getting the stage ready."

"You are asking me if I want to send my wild, rebellious teen to New York City to gallivant with the hippies around the Village?" Olivia joked. "I remember how you were when you were her age."

"First of all, it is in Queens. Second of all, I only went off of the deep end _after_ moving out from my parents' house. Third of all, it would be good for her to see our non-profit. I could show her how to channel your artistic creativity into positivity."

"Fine." Olivia said. "But you better not return her smelling like this shit."

"Scouts honors." Karen winked, offering Olivia another hit. Olivia glanced back towards the house before taking another puff. "Alex showed me some of her art. It's really good."

"I don't understand it." Olivia admitted. "But then maybe that means she is doing it the right way."

"You know that she is the spitting image of you."

"That's what terrifies me." Olivia said softly, letting the light effects of the weed hit her system. "Am I too hard on her?"

"I don't think so. At one point, I thought mom and dad were too hard on me. I turned out okay." She shrugged. "Alex might not express it, but she is in awe of you."

"She has a funny way of showing it." Olivia said. She knew that their disagreements were just a part of her teenage angst and Olivia's motherly worries. Every mother and daughter went through it. It wasn't even all that bad all of the time. Even after their honest and emotional conversation moment a couple of weeks ago, Alex quickly reverted to her angsty, rebellious spirit.

"I'm serious. She asks me about what you were like when you and Dad met all of the time."

"And you are going to get me in trouble with your answers." Olivia laughed.

"Do the honors?" Karen held the last of the joint for Olivia.

"It is all yours." Olivia shook her head. "I should get in and wash the smell off of me before Abbey and David come over for a movie."

"Sure thing." Karen nodded, taking the last puff before ditching the roach in the trash bin on the side of the house.

Olivia showered, brushed her teeth, and did everything to erase any evidence of her smoking weed before Abbey, David, and their eleven-year-old son Caden came over for a Christmas tradition of watching _It's A Wonderful Life_.

"Merry Christmas." Olivia greeted the Rosen family at her door.

"Merry Christmas, Liv." Abbey pulled her in for a hug. She received a cold shoulder from David, who ignored her as he entered into her home.

"How's it going, Caden?" Olivia asked.

"Dope." He grinned. "I got a drone for Christmas."

"I can't wait for Thomas to wreck it into a tree." Olivia laughed as he ran off to find Thomas. Abbey held out a gift wrapped present. "I wonder what this is…"

"I'll grab the glasses." She winked. Their Christmas tradition morphed into Abbey gifting Olivia a bottle of fine red wine, which was understood to be shared amongst the adults throughout the movie.

Olivia was halfway through uncorking the bottle when Abbey excused herself to use the restroom. Fitz was setting up the television, leaving just her and David in the kitchen.

"You are awfully _bah-humbug_ - _y_ on this fine day of our Lord's birth." Olivia teased.

"Do you want me to pretend that I am happy with you single-handedly obstructing justice, when justice is my lively-hood? Justice is what I strive for. Justice is what—"

"The American people deserve." Olivia finished his rant. "I know. Which is why I am fully compliant with justice. It is why I have no idea why you are being so harsh towards me on this sacred holiday."

"Maybe, because you are obstructing what could possibly be the biggest cyber-security case our country has yet to witness?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Your client has the key to why thousands of users of his social media platform had their information sold for profit to external corporations, without user compliance."

"If I had any clue as to what you are _insinuating_ , then I surely would have complied by now." Olivia smirked. "In the name of justice, of course."

"I am gone for two minutes and you have made no progress on this wine bottle." Abbey interjected. She immediately picked up on the tension. "Oh, god, not work talk."

"I was just letting your lovely boss know that I will be seeing her in court." David said.

"From the spectator's seat." Olivia winked, popping the cork and pouring everybody's glass. Because of David's marriage to Abbey, he had to step down and let one of his deputy attorneys handle the case. It was embarrassing for him, but not the first time that Abbey's employment at OPA had caused him to step down from a case. "Maybe we can slip you VIP tickets to the action."

Everybody found their places in the living room. There wasn't enough seating for everybody, so a sea of blankets and pillows created a palette on the floor. Olivia opted for a seat on the floor, to ensure couch space for Alex, Mia, David, and Abbey. Fits settled behind her, pulling her between his legs and a blanket over the both of them.

"Happy?" He murmured into her ear, using the blanket as a cover for him to let his hands wander the space between her cashmere sweater and bare skin.

"Very." She responded, only so that he could hear.

As James Stewart and Donna Reed told the predictable yet endearing Christmas classic, Olivia couldn't help but think about how very happy she was – surrounded by the people she loved, in the arms of the man that loved her more than anything, and witness to what their love had accomplished.

She was very happy.

Happy indeed.

* * *

 **end. scene.**  
thank you for this journey.  
 **~Parker19**


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